Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has revealed how he intends on trying to get the best out of Dele Alli again moving forward.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence for club and country in recent years, but he has struggled to discover his best form so far this season.
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Alli has just two goals and one assist in 10 appearances for Spurs, and given he’s bagged 55 goals and 50 assists in 194 outings for Tottenham overall, that is clearly below the level that he is capable of performing at.
In turn, helping him to get back to his best will undoubtedly make Mourinho’s job a whole lot easier as he looks to guide Tottenham up the Premier League table in the coming weeks, starting with a search for a win in the clash against rivals West Ham in his first match in charge this weekend.
Spurs sit 14th in the table ahead of the encounter, 11 points adrift of fourth place. With that in mind, Mourinho will know that he needs to make a quick start, and he’ll hope Alli can play a leading role for his side in the coming weeks.
“I asked him if he was Dele or Dele’s brother,” Mourinho said, as quoted by BBC Sport. “He told me he was Dele. ‘OK,’ I said. ‘Play like Dele’.”
“Now I have to create a tactical situation he is happy with, give him the right dynamics and prepare him physically well because he has had important injuries and he is not on the top of his form.”
That sounds promising for Alli as it would suggest that Mourinho intends to make him a key figure in his plans moving forward, and that could be the confidence boost and show of faith after a fresh start that he needs to get back to his best.
Time will tell if that’s the case and whether or not Mourinho can unlock that form, but it promises to be a key part of Tottenham’s push up the table as if Alli, Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and others are all firing at the same time, it makes Spurs a very dangerous team again.
