Tottenham bid farewell to White Hart Lane with an impressive win over Man Utd on Sunday, but it wasn’t all smiles as Dele Alli gave reason for concern over his future.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a stellar campaign this year, scoring 21 goals and providing 11 assists in 48 appearances in all competitions to establish himself as a key cog and fans’ favourite at Spurs.
However, as with many of the club’s top players, they continue to be linked with exits given Tottenham’s wait for major trophies continues as they failed at the final few hurdles again this season.
That shouldn’t take away from the progress that they’ve made under Mauricio Pochettino though, and with the likes of Alli, they will hope to continue to build and go one better next season.
However, despite his contract running until 2022, Alli has given Spurs fans a real scare by insisting that he doesn’t know what the future holds and while he didn’t flat out admit that he will consider an exit, entertaining the idea that he could one day leave probably isn’t what supporters want to hear either.
“It’s important you enjoy the journey, whether I end up at Tottenham for the next 15 years and retire here (or leave),” he told Sky Sports, as reported by The Sun.
“I think it’s important for me not to get too carried away by what will happen in the future. The way football is, anything can happen at any time. I will enjoy my time here now, who knows what will happen in the future.”
It would seem like the sensible thing to do to stay with Tottenham and continue to develop in this exciting, talented and young squad.
However, with big money contracts likely to be available elsewhere with clubs established in terms of competing for and winning trophies on a regular basis, it could be tough for Spurs to keep hold of players like Alli moving forward.