Former Tottenham Hotspur and England international Dele Alli has terminated his contract with Como and is now a free agent.
Dele made just one appearance for the Italian side under Cesc Fabregas during the eight months spent there. That was against AC Milan back in March. He was substituted on in place of Lucas Da Cunha with nine minutes to go.
His debut couldn’t have gone any worse. In stoppage time, he caught his former England teammate Ruben Loftus-Cheek and was sanctioned with a yellow card. After a lengthy review, Italian referee, Matteo Marchetti decided to upgrade his punishment to a straight red card.
Since the sending off, Alli has struggled to keep up with the fitness required to play in Fabregas’ team. He made the bench a further seven times but was unused.
What went wrong for Dele Alli?
It’s all been downhill for Dele since he departed Premier LeaguePremier League Tottenham and signed for Everton in the January transfer window in 2022. He made limited appearances there whilst also struggling with a handful of injuries. The bottom line is, he couldn’t get in favour with Frank Lampard or Sean Dyche.
Alli’s only goal contributions for the Toffees came in a preseason victory over Blackpool in the summer that year. He netted a brace as Everton edged to a 4-3 win. He then featured off the bench for the first two games in the Premier League against Chelsea and Aston Villa but ultimately failed to make any substantive impact.
That summer, he signed for Besiktas on a season-long loan. He was thrown in straight away and played well during a 3-1 victory over Sivasspor and then the following weekend, he scored his first competitive goal since his penalty during a Europa Conference League thrashing over NS Mura. It was a fantastic moment for him and well taken goal as Besiktas narrowly defeated Ankaragucu 3-2 away from home.
The same issues came rushing back for Dele. He struggled again to keep his fitness and eventually picked up an injury that kept him side-lined for two years which led to his one game played for Como. It seems Dele has been very unlucky with injuries, fitness and has openly talked about his mental health struggles and drug addiction. Most notably his interview he did with Gary Neville for Sky.
Could Dele ever get back to his Tottenham Hotspur best?
It’s hard to forget how good Dele Alli was especially between 2015 and 2019. He managed 21 goals and assists in his first season for Tottenham with his remarkable volley against Crystal Palace in January 2016 being his most impressive.
The following season was his highest scoring one. Dele netted 22 goals and assisted nine as he helped Tottenham finish second and push Chelsea to a thrilling title race. His curling effort against Watford in April of 2017 will not be forgotten quickly.
The next season, it was the same again. Dele scored 14 goals and assisted 15. He was playing for England at the time and was regarded as one of the most talented English players in that moment.
Jose Mourinho took charge and was concerned about Dele’s attitude. He knew his lack of effort in training was holding him back and was eventually proved right. Dele’s goalscoring started to dry and was subsequently dropped from Spurs’ starting eleven.
A player once spoken on every football fan’s lips rapidly began to decline and disappear from the limelight. There is a player there, but the question is whether it will ever come back from the shadows.