It hurts Mauricio Pochettino, Dele Alli’s mentor, that he has not reached his top level for a moment in recent seasons. The Chelsea manager wonders what went wrong with his old pupil.
Pochettino wants to help wandering Alli
Pochettino’s return to the Premier League brings back memories of his team at Tottenham Hotspur. Harry Kane developed tremendously during the Argentine’s reign and perhaps just as impressive was Dele Alli’s breakthrough. Picked up from MK Dons, the attacking midfielder grew into an English international in no time and became a tastemaker in the Premier League. In the 2016/17 season, the revelation scored eighteen times in the English league and provided nine assists.
In the Amazon Prime series on Tottenham Hotspur, Jose Mourinho revealed to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy what Sir Alex Ferguson had told him during his time as manager at Manchester United. “Sir Alex Ferguson only tipped me once in those two and a half years and that was to get Dele Alli. He thought Alli was a real Manchester United player with his mentality, aggression and style of play,” said Mourinho, who told Levy at the same time that he was disappointed with the way Alli trained once he was under his wing at Spurs.
“I hope to find some time to talk to him”
Tottenham let Alli go to Everton in early 2022. At Goodison Park, the midfielder failed to turn his career around. Everton loaned out the 37-time international, who is still only 27 years old, to Besiktas last season. He also failed to live up to expectations at the Turkish top club. Besiktas also questioned the mentality of the former top talent.
Pochettino also showed that he does not know exactly where things went wrong in Alli’s career. The brand new Chelsea manager still has a soft spot for the Milton Keynes midfielder, it became clear when he was asked about the situation. “I hope to find some time to talk to him. He’s a really good guy and I’d like to talk to him. I want to help him and find out what’s going on,” said Pochettino about Alli. Who still has a contract with Everton until mid-2024.
