Dele Alli faces uncertain future at Tottenham Hotspur after being dropped for Antonio Conte's first two games
A lot has changed at Tottenham Hotspur in the last 18 months. The club have gone from a Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino as their manager to having three different coaches at the helm.
Jose Mourinho came in for a few months but things didn’t work out and he was replaced by compatriot Nuno Espirito Santo. The former Wolverhampton Wanderers coach was also sacked after just 10 Premier League matches.
Antonio Conte is the latest manager to be trusted with the task of leading Tottenham into the top echelons of English and European football.
Amidst all these changes, though, the only constant is Dele Alli’s struggles. The 25-year-old was rated as the next big thing when he first emerged on the scene but his development has stalled in recent years.
Antonio Conte has promised to give Dele Alli the chance to resurrect his Tottenham career.
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Dele Alli has played zero minutes in Conte’s first two matches as Tottenham Hotspur manager
The teenage Alli, who terrorised opposition defenders for fun, is a distant memory of the man who currently wears Tottenham’s number 20 shirt.
Complaints about a lack of effort from the midfielder's side have been the order of the day. Jose Mourinho wasn’t happy with the Englishman's work rate. Despite being a starter in the early weeks of Espirito Santo’s tenure, Alli saw very little game time towards the end of the ex-Wolves boss’ short reign.
Conte’s arrival presents a fresh start for all players in the Spurs dressing room but it appears the Italian manager isn’t a fan of Alli.
The England midfielder was left on the bench during Conte’s debut game in charge of Tottenham – a 3-2 win over Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League.
Alli was again an unused substitute during Tottenham’s goalless draw with Everton on Sunday. With zero minutes in Conte’s first two matches, the signs do not look too good for the Tottenham No.20.
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Alli facing uncertain future at Spurs
The new Tottenham Hotspur boss has promised to give every player the chance to show what they can do, but he is also conscious of the fact that he needs to turn things around quickly.
That means Conte has no time for trial and error. Only the players who earn his trust in training will play and that is exactly what he has done in his first two matches in charge of the team. But as it stands, Alli is clearly not in this category.
"For sure I will give him [Alli] the possibility to show he has talent. At the same time, when I pick the starting XI I do it because I think they can bring the team to win, the same when I make changes during the game,” Conte said of the embattled midfielder, as quoted by Sky Sports.
"I am open, I am open for every single player in Tottenham. The most important thing is they show me they deserve the chance to play," he added.
"The door is open for every single player. My first thought is to try and give them the best situation to show their talent, but then they need to show me I must be sure to give them a chance and repay. For all players, every single player," concluded Conte.
Against Everton, when Tottenham were being outfought and outplayed, the Italian manager opted to bring on Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele rather than Alli.
The January window is also nigh and Conte will definitely be going all out to acquire his targets to beef up the squad. All this leaves Alli facing an uncertain future at Tottenham.