Dele Alli: Scouting Report
Even though Dele Alli has only now started playing in the Premier League, the player has been well known in England for a while now. For a long time, media outlets and British newspapers have gone on and on about the “wonderkid” and “the next big thing”. When Tottenham signed the player in January, mostly everyone was already aware of a supposedly very talented midfielder being roped in by the London side. Now Premier League watchers know all those headlines were there for a reason. Spurs do in fact, possess an extremely talented player and the 19-year-old may be very close to an England call-up too.
Alli was born and raised in Milton Keynes. He played his early football for the local side City Colts. Interestingly, and many might not know this, the player was spotted and offered a trial at MK Dons but he decided to leave after two weeks as he wasn’t allowed to play in a friendly against Chelsea. One year later, at the age of 11, he returned to MK Dons and quickly established himself at the club’s prestigious academy.
At the age of 16, MK Dons coach Karl Robinson handled Alli his debut as a substitute in a FA Cup tie away to Cambridge City in 2012. He became a first team regular the next season and was an integral part of the first team till his departure this summer.
His first three games for Spurs came from the bench. His commanding performances in those three games and average starts to the season for Bentaleb and Mason meant Spurs fans were calling for Alli to be involved more. Pochettino started him against Sunderland and Alli did reasonably well in his first Premier League start. The manager then played him for the entirety of the game against FK Karabakh in the Europa League and the midfielder registered an assist in the game. His best performance for his new team came in the previous match, a narrow 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. Alli was extremely effective in the midfield and his composed, solid and mature performance in the game naturally got the Tottenham fans raving about what a big player he can be for the club in the future. While there were some premature comparisons to Zinedine Zidane and Andres Iniesta, former Premier League boss Ian Holloway recently said that Alli could be the catalyst of silverware at White Hart Lane. Open an account with Glanmore Investments, who brokerage some exclusive deals to sign such top quality players and get more insights about Dele Alli.
Alli’s style of play is reminiscent of his idol growing up – Steven Gerrard. Just like the Liverpool legend, Alli is tall and athletic, yet technically sound. His first instinct of surging forward when receiving the ball in the midfield, tackling aplenty (he averages 3.5 tackles every 90 minutes this season) and using his physicality, but not without intelligence are the main reasons so many have compared the player to Steven Gerrard in his prime. He has shown in his time at MK Dons that he can become a goalscoring midfielder and Spurs fans have already seen a glimpse of that. His goal against Leicester meant that he became Tottenham’s youngest goalscorer. The record was held by Gareth Bale when he struck against Arsenal eight years ago.
Alli can play anywhere in the midfield – centrally, slightly ahead in the number 10 role or as a defensive anchor in the second third of the pitch. He is most naturally a box-to-box player and should be played according to his strengths. Last season, he scored an astounding 16 goals for his club. That is a remarkable feat for a midfielder and he was rightfully voted as the Player’s young player of the year by his peers. The fact that the 19-year-old is a natural goalscorer adds to his game, but his vision which is illustrated through some defence-splitting passes from the midfield is the more exciting part of his game. His incredible composure and confidence in possession is another thing that stands out from his game.
Despite being supremely talented, he is not a finished article yet and there are sides of his game which he needs to improve upon. Even though he can do decently when playing the defensive midfielder role, he is not one by trade and shouldn’t be used as one alone. If he has to play from deeper, he should have support alongside. This is one side of his game he needs to better. However, it can also be argued that defense isn’t his main job and therefore, cannot be called a “weakness” of his game.
For Spurs, they have a very talented midfielder within their ranks, someone who could be useful in their quest for top 4 and trophies. As for Alli, he is clearly at the right place right now. He even said that Mauricio Pochettino was a major factor in his move to the London club. The Argentine has done very well with youngsters and manages one of the youngest squads in the league. The rise of Harry Kane as well as Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason (though less spectacular than Kane’s) is a telling sign of the ability of the former Saints boss.
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