Dele Alli can be an ‘absolute superstar’ after Tottenham twist reported
Alex McLeish has backed Dele Alli to continue his “renaissance” at Tottenham and maximise his “enormous potential”.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Birmingham City and Scotland manager insisted Dele has been in “excellent” form for his club recently.
It looked like the writing was on the wall for the 25-year-old’s Tottenham career until a surprise recall to Antonio Conte’s starting XI for the thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday (19 December).
He was then introduced as a substitute in the 2-1 win over West Ham on Wednesday (22 December) as Spurs progressed to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Fabrizio Romano reported on Tuesday (21 December) Conte was willing to listen to offers for Dele but has now changed his mind.
“It’s good to see a wee bit of a renaissance from Dele Alli,” McLeish told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild.
“I remember going to see him when he was just emerging for the England national team and he scored a great goal at Wembley.
“In those days he was looking like an absolute wonderkid then all of a sudden it plateaued and then dipped.
“Hopefully, he’s coming back up the hill again. Back in the day, I thought he was a kid of enormous talent and was going to be an absolute superstar.
“That’s not quite happened yet but there’s still a chance for him to resurrect his career and be that superstar. His recent form with Tottenham has been excellent.”
The draw with Liverpool was Dele’s first Premier League start since the 3-0 loss to Arsenal at the end of September.
The England international has two goals and one assist to his name after 16 appearances across all competitions this term.
In other news, Kieran Maguire has dropped a ‘wallet-emptying’ claim as Tottenham are hit by a £30m hammer blow.