Dele Alli leaves Tottenham for Everton
Martin Macdonald
- 31 Jan 2022 18:12 CST
- 3 min read
Dele Alli has joined Everton on a permanent transfer from Tottenham.
As the January transfer window approached, it became clearer that Spurs manager Antonio Conte did not see a future in North London for Alli, whose stock as a player has fallen dramatically over the past couple of years.
The attacking midfielder flourished under Mauricio Pochettino before eventually losing his way with the Argentine at the helm.
TRENDING
A similar pattern happened when Jose Mourinho took over as manager as Dele was initially excellent before again allowing his performances to drop.
Under Nuno Espirito Santo and now Conte, he has made very little impact on the team.
An insight into his workrate was provided by Mourinho himself in the Amazon Prime documentary All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur.
I have no doubts about your potential. I saw you do incredible things in incredible matches. But I always felt that you had ups and downs.
- Jose Mourinho to Dele AlliAfter accusing Dele in front of the whole squad of being a lazy trainer, Mourinho would later say to the player:
"Maybe, inside, you are telling me to f*** off, but I have to tell you exactly what I see.
"I have no doubts about your potential. I saw you do incredible things in incredible matches. But I always felt that you had ups and downs.
"There is a huge difference between a player who has consistency and a player who has moments. That is what makes the difference between a top, top player and a player with top potential."
Everton sign Dele Alli
Alli has been given the chance to reignite his career thanks to the move to Everton.
The Toffees initially wanted a loan fee until the end of the season, but they have filled their quota for domestic loan transfers following the acquisition of Anwar El Ghazi from Aston Villa.
Everton have negotiated a deal that will see them pay zero up front for Alli before paying £10 million as soon as he plays 20 games for the club.
Should certain performance-related conditions be met, Everton could end up paying as much as £40m for Alli.
