Former Liverpool and Aston Villa attacker Stan Collymore has issued a heartfelt open letter to struggling Everton midfielder Dele.
Dele, 26, has endured a dreadful downfall that saw him leave Spurs and join Everton, and although the Toffees remain a top club, after making just 13 appearances for the Blues, the 26-year-old was shipped out on loan to Turkish side Besiktas.
And the midfielder’s time in Europe probably couldn’t have gone much worse. Given just 15 appearances, Dele has once again failed to impress and has been sent back to England where he is now not expected to feature again until at least next season.
His future with the Toffees remains desperately uncertain too with leading transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently confirming that the Merseyside giants will work toward potentially terminating his contract.
“There will be discussions with Everton to find a solution together. For sure his agents will look for a new opportunity but nothing has been decided yet. The first step has to be with Everton and talks will take place soon to decide together,” Romano said in his CaughtOffside column.
And reacting to these latest developments ex-pro Collymore has urged Dele to ‘reach out’ so he can help the struggling midfielder to work out what his passions are in life.
“I really want to help Dele,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“I want him to reach out, get in touch with me and let me help him. I know all too well what it’s like to make bad choices – I am still reminded of some of the mistakes I have made daily by people on social media, so if I could help one other person avoid making the same, or similar mistakes, that I did, that would be great.
“When it comes to the recent photographs that were released that allegedly show Dele inhaling laughing gas and drinking, everyone is either saying ‘Leave the kid alone, he’s having fun’, or ‘He’s ruined his career’ – we’re forgetting he’s a human being with thoughts and feelings.
“My first question is has his agent not been able to have any influence on his client’s lifestyle, and if not, why not? – I really want Dele, or his agent, to get in contact with me. I am willing to give the man my time and help him work out exactly what has gone wrong and how to fix it, and it may well be that he doesn’t feel passionate enough about football to want to continue to play it professionally, in which case, that’s absolutely fine, but let’s find the thing that does get you out of bed in the mornings, Dele.”