Dele Alli in ‘last chance saloon at Tottenham’ after U-turn in last 24 hours
Dele Alli is in “last chance saloon” at Tottenham, according to Alan Hutton.
The former Spurs defender, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the 25-year-old has a “real opportunity” to impress under “elite manager” Antonio Conte.
Alli made a promising first start under Conte as Tottenham earned a 2-2 home draw against Liverpool on Sunday (19 December).
According to Fabrizio Romano (21 December), Conte was willing to listen to transfer proposals for the midfielder in January but has changed his mind on letting the England international leave.
Hutton suggested the former Chelsea manager could inspire Alli to turn his faltering career around.
“I can see both sides of the coin,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“I was at the game on Sunday, and I thought he played really well. The thing I thought he had been missing from his game is that little bit of anger that he plays with, that chip on his shoulder.
“He seemed to have lost his way for a while, but that edge seemed to be back on Sunday. That could be down to the manager getting him back to what he does best, working hard and being aggressive in his play.
“There is a real opportunity for him if he can play like that week-in, week-out under Antonio Conte. That’s the thing – he has to be able to do it regularly. He can’t just switch it on and off like a light switch.
“The flip side is that he is in the last chance saloon at Spurs. He’s had a lot of opportunities under all sorts of managers, and it hasn’t worked. Now he’s got to do it consistently under an elite manager to stay at the club.”
In other news, an insider has revealed Tottenham could soon be ‘laughing’ amid ‘£30m’ Spurs player prediction.