Gareth Southgate has backed Dele Alli to regain his status in England’s international setup following the attacker’s resurgence under new Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United gaffer took over the reins at the new White Hart Lane in the wake of Mauricio Pochettino’s departure and is reported to have rejected a big-money offer to rejoin Real Madrid. His arrival has sparked an upturn in form that has seen the side shoot to the fifth spot the Premier League table on the back of a spell that had seen them go without a win since that 2-1 defeat of Southampton on September 28.
Tottenham have won all three games played under Mourinho in all competitions and should be pretty confident heading into their next set of fixtures. Alli, in particular, has been in sensational fettle since the Portuguese coach took charge. The 2016 and 2017 PFA Young Player of the Year hasn’t been involved in England’s affairs their last three outings but he’s now poised to force his way back into Southgate’s setup, with the Three Lions boss thrilled to see him playing in the No.10 position under his new manager.
Alli scored twice during Spurs’ 3-2 win over Bournemouth on Saturday and he also got on the score sheet when the Londoners beat Olympiakos 4-2 in the Champions League last Tuesday. His return to form has pleased Southgate, who was full of praise for the 23-year-old at the Euro 2020 finals draw in Romania this past weekend.
“Jose has played him as a No 10 and that’s his best position, as he has the freedom to run on into the box,” he remarked, per The Sun. “That has been very clear for a long time.
“So it’s great he’s back on the scoring trail. We have brilliant competition for places in those attacking areas. We haven’t struggled for goals in qualifying so that’s not been a problem. But a lot can happen in that period of time in terms of form and injury, and not a lot of it that we can control.
“At the moment, players like Dele are fighting to get into Tottenham’s team and pleasing their manager there. So if the consequence of that is that they are in form for us then for sure that will be in the players’ minds, but at this stage of the season they are thinking about their clubs.”
It’s not too early to get betting info and tips for Euro 2020 although the tournament won’t begin until next summer. England are the current favourites to come out on top at Bet365, who are offering odds of 4/1 on their chances. World Cup winners France are 13/2, having previously been favoured to win the competition by said bookies, while Belgium are 5/1.
Southgate’s men are obvious favourites to top Group D at 4/11 with Skybet, who has 3/1 odds going on last year’s World Cup finalists Croatia.
If you’re looking for betting opportunities that are a bit more current, you could get 9/5 odds on Spurs qualifying for a Champions League place from Paddy Power. Leicester City’s form leaves them in prime position to finish in the top four and Ladbrokes are offering odds of 2/7 on a UCL return for the Foxes, while Chelsea are also favoured to finish in a top-four spot at 2/5 with William Hill.
