Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli could reportedly leave the club in the January transfer window as he doesn’t fall in the plans of manager Antonio Conte.
Dele Alli’s stock has tumbled over the last couple of years due to injury problems and a massive dip in form. The England international, 25, featured sporadically under Jose Mourinho after being a regular starter for many years for Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs.
According to The Athletic, Dele Alli could be on his way out of Tottenham having fallen out of favour under new boss Antonio Conte, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo last month. Club chairman Daniel Levy is expected to sanction the 25-year-old’s departure, most likely on loan, in the winter transfer window, the report adds.
Alli has mainly been restricted to cameo appearances under Conte and the attacking midfielder has decided to leave, hoping regular game time elsewhere can revive his once blossoming career. A rare start in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool saw the player show glimpses of what he can offer and shouldn’t have dearth of suitors especially if available on loan.
With that in mind, here are three clubs that should target the Spurs outcast in January.
- Newcastle United
Possibly the most likely destination for Dele Alli is Newcastle United where manager Eddie Howe is in badly need of fresh faces to bolster his squad.
Newcastle are battling against relegation, having registered just one win in 18 games so far. After the Magpies’ high-profile takeover by the Saudi-led consortium, Eddie Howe is expected to be backed in the upcoming transfer window.
Having struggled with creativity and scoring goals, Newcastle could do with someone capable of delivering the goods in both departments. In that case, Dele Alli would perfectly fit the bill at St James’ Park and a loan move for the Englishman must be attempted in the opening days of the winter window.
- Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino wanted to sign Dele Alli back in January but Daniel Levy blocked the move. However, now with Levy not expected to stand in the way of Alli, Mauricio Pochettino must try again to reunite with the English midfielder.
A move to PSG makes a lot of sense for Alli. He enjoyed his best football under Pochettino at Spurs and could achieve the same at Parc des Princes, whilst adding further value and depth to PSG’s squad. The 25-year-old would provide some much-needed creativity from the Parisians midfield to open up rigid defences too.
All in all, PSG should capitalise on the situation and sign Alli on loan until the end of the season.
- AC Milan
The signings of Tiemoue Bakayoko and Pietro Pellegri from Chelsea and AS Monaco with options to buy haven’t worked out well for AC Milan. While signing a replacement for the injured defender Simon Kjaer is a priority, the potential departures of Franck Kessie and Ismael Bennacer for the AFCON starting next month onwards should force the Rossoneri to bring in a midfielder as well.
In that sense, Dele Alli could be perfect. While he prefers to play as a number 10, Alli is more than capable of operating down the left and also as one of the advanced 8s in a 4-3-3 formation. The Englishman’s quality on the ball could see Zlatan Ibrahimovic thrive more in the box.
Thus, Alli is a player Milan could do well by having for the second half of this campaign.