Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed his belief that midfielder Dele Alli can become one of the best players in world football.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed an incredible rise since joining Spurs from MK Dons last year, as he has evolved into a key figure for his club while also establishing himself in the England squad.
With a brace against Southampton in a 4-1 win earlier this week, he underlined how much quality he possesses as he took his goal tally for the season up to seven, and Pochettino seemingly couldn’t be more delighted with his progress.
Aside from the fact that he believes Alli can continue to get even better, the Spurs coach even suggested that the England international is worth £50m right now.
“Yes [he is a £50m player], why not? Today Dele Alli is showing a quality, a talent that it’s difficult to find in Europe at 20 years old,” he is quoted as saying by The Sun.
“There’s no doubt he is and will be one of the best players in England in the next ten, 12 years. And England represents Europe, and maybe the world too.
“He’s said he wants success here, he’s very happy here, and there’s no doubt that he wants to win titles here.”
Given that Alli has effectively been a shining presence in the Spurs team for less than two years, the jury is arguably still out as to whether or not he is, or will be, a world-class player.
From what we’ve seen so far he has every chance of establishing himself as one of the best in the Premier League, but he’ll have to consistently deliver for a lot longer to earn that kind of recognition.
As for his price-tag, in the modern day transfer market, Pochettino probably isn’t too far off with his opinion, and he’ll hope that speculation earlier this month from The Mirror about a £50m offer from Paris Saint-Germain for Alli’s services doesn’t become a problem in trying to keep him at White Hart Lane.