Rio Ferdinand heaps praise on Tottenham star Dele Alli

Speaking to BT Sport (h/t Football.london), Rio Ferdinand has heaped some praise on Tottenham star Dele Alli. The former Premier League defender highlighted Alli’s physical attributes and labelled him a ‘machine’.

Dele Alli has come a long way in his Spurs career. From being a bright talent, Alli has somewhat gone off the radar in recent seasons. He was, perhaps one of the finest young attacking midfielders in the league but as time has gone he has drifted in and out of the side. Under Jose Mourinho, he lost his place in the side.

During that period, he spent a lot of time on the sidelines and only in the later stages, he made a comeback. Nonetheless, Alli has been reinstated to the side under Nuno Espirito Santo and is a regular in the starting XI now. He even scored the winning goal against Wolves in the second league game and impressed in the other two wins.

While he struggled against Crystal Palace like most of his teammates, there is no doubting that Alli has looked a whole different beast altogether. Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand was particularly impressed with the midfielder.

“Physically he can overpower, he can dominate, he can outrun most players around. Physically he is a machine, he is a specimen.”

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Alli has somewhat turned a corner this season and Spurs will be hoping that he can keep up the bright run of form. He has looked better in this new role under Nuno Santo. A more effective presence, he has done well to link up play between midfield and attack. It will be interesting to see how Nuno gets the best out of him.