Former Chelsea star Wayne Bridge has made a sensational claim that Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli would be the successor to Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge.
Dele Alli is having a dream season with Spurs, having scored 18 goals and made 10 assists in 41 appearances. He is growing into one of the best in the world and has progressed leaps and bounds over the past two years.
He is certainly the best young footballer in the Premier League right now and former Chelsea defender Wayne Bridge says Alli would be a huge success at Chelsea.
Bridge, who played for Chelsea from 2003-08, made 142 appearances for the Blues, before moving to Manchester City in January 2009. He was quoted by Express:
“I’d love to see Dele Alli in a Chelsea shirt. Obviously, it’s a bit controversial for him to leave Spurs and go to Chelsea, but I think under Antonio Conte he would do really well. The question is how important they think that player is to their team and how much they are willing to spend?”
The left-back went on to say that the Blues are missing Lampard and Alli would be the perfect player to fill in for the retired English international. He also feels that Dele Alli is exciting to watch and admits it wouldn’t be an easy job to replace Lampard at Chelsea. Bridge said:
“Chelsea definitely miss Frank Lampard and for me Dele Alli is the closest player at this precise moment that could fill his [Frank Lampard’s] boots. He is starting off the right way and he’s so exciting to watch. Lampard’s done it for years and years and he’s proved himself. For Chelsea, he was just outstanding. Over the last decade, he’s got to be one of the best Premier League players.”
“It’s obviously a big ask and it wouldn’t be an easy job, but I think he [Dele Alli] has got it in him to progress and do what Lampard has done. He’s got the attributes to go and do it – he’s still young, he can score goals, he can assist and he works hard.”
Wayne Bridge
Bridge also compared the way Lampard and Alli play and said that Alli shares the knack of being in the right place at the right time to score a goal, with the legendary midfielder. He said:
“They always seem to be in the right place at the right time to nick a goal. It is the way they read the play, they get in the right positions. They are both hard workers as well. To be a midfielder and to be able to score goals like that is just a natural talent. I think Lampard could have been a striker.”
“He [Dele Alli] is doing it for England as well. If England are going to win a tournament, him scoring goals is going to be an important part of that. He’s young and has got time.”
Whether or not if Dele Alli moves to Chelsea is a different question altogether, but the fact that a player who had spent many years with Lampard in the dressing room coming out to say that Alli can replace the English legend is quite a huge accolade and Alli can be proud of this comparison.
Instead of becoming Chelsea’s next Lampard, Alli would be well recognised if he became Tottenham’s first Dele Alli.
