Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has spoken about his ambition and the position in which he would like to play in the longer run. Alli currently plays as a No.10 and as a winger for Tottenham but he has now revealed which position would suit him the best.
The young Englishman also spoke about his admiration for Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard and has admitted that he grew up idolising the England legend.
Talking to Sky Sports, Alli said:
“I’m definitely a midfielder. When I start playing up top where H (Harry Kane) plays I don’t feel comfortable. I grew up watching Steven Gerrard a lot and he was a number eight so I’d like to play there but when competition is like it is you play anywhere the manager wants you to. And I can’t complain, I’m really am happy where I’m playing.”
“The formation we were playing with three at the back gave me a bit more freedom and the chance to get more goals. Sometimes I have to make runs to get in behind H and give him a bit more room to get shots off and stuff like that. But, as I say, I’m definitely a midfielder.”
Alli also revealed what he was like earlier in his career and has disclosed some of the incidents that happened during his time at MK Dons.
“Coming from Milton Keynes, watching them, being a ball boy for them and coming through the academy – scoring that goal was unreal. At school the next day, I felt like a little celebrity. Some kids were MK fans and a couple of them wanted me to sign some stuff – it took my attention off maths.”
Dele has come a long way since then and has now established himself as a firm favourite at White Hart Lane. He has already nailed his place in the playing XI and won the PFA Young Player of the Year award last season. He has been nominated once again this season and looks like the favourite this time too.
Alli has gotten used to scoring goals and it isn’t surprising as it has always been something that he was good at naturally. He has scored a lot of goals in his career now and knows the knack of using both his feet and some trickery to put the ball into the back of the net. He joined Tottenham in 2015 and has already scored 29 goals so far in 88 games. He also explained how Spurs work together as a team to beat the opposition defenders by using little tricks that are difficult to interpret. The 21-year old said:
“Especially in the Premier League, defenders are really switched on, so you almost have to fool them (with your movement) into thinking you’re doing something else. For example, Chris (Eriksen) likes one where he puts a bit of whip on it so I look to check back out and the defender still thinks I’m stood next to them. That sort of movement starts happening naturally but you do have to think about it a bit.”
Dele Alli revealed how he prepares for each game and how he tackles his opponents. He says that every goalkeeper is different and hence the finishing needs to be different for each and every keeper out there.
“Every keeper is different, so you do your research on them and the goalkeeper coach here (Toni Jiminez) is unbelievable at that, he’s always getting it right. If they come out big, if they come out and look for the low ones early, so you can put it over them – there’s different finishes for different keepers.”
Alli has been exceptional for Tottenham since joining them and if he manages to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award again, it will be a remarkable achievement for the lad.
