Is it too soon for Dele Alli to consider a move to Real Madrid?
There is a saying that each and every footballer dreams of playing for either Real Madrid or Barcelona at least once in his career. Although, it is not always applicable for most British players, however, as we know that they tend to be homesick. The likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney are cases in point. But we have also seen Gareth Bale being lured away from English football by cash-rich Real Madrid a few years ago.
Well, just 'cash-rich' would be an understatement when we talk about Real Madrid as they clearly are the most prestigious club in the history of world football. Spurs could not resist the temptation of cashing in their most valuable asset then and if reports are to be believed, the 11-time European champions are willing to test Spurs' resilience once again. this time for another British talent that has had a meteoric rise in the last couple of years.
Yes, Dele Alli is reportedly the priority target of Zinedine Zidane and it is a public knowledge that Real Madrid have managed to sign almost everyone they have ever wanted.
Nightmare news for Spurs fans
So, Dele Alli to Real Madrid? From Spurs’ point of view, this is a nightmare kind of news. He is one of the most important members of the North London club and in the system Mauricio Pochettino believes in, the 20-year-old is irreplaceable. We have seen the impact of Alli this season. When he is performing, Spurs are winning and when he was struggling to find his feet, the whole team struggled with him.
Alli is an example to all those lower league players who dream of setting the biggest stage on fire. Before last season, he was plying his trade for his boyhood club MK Dons. Even though he was a player held in high regard, no one expected him to make an immediate impact at Spurs after his move. There is a saying that, ‘fortune favours the brave’. Alli’s case is exactly so.
He got an opportunity in the first-team due to then key players Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb’s injuries and took his chance in the most perfect of fashions. Now Mason in at Hull whie Bentaleb is at Schalke. The impact Alli made is quite clear!
Staying at Spurs would serve Alli better
Okay, now let us think from the perspective of Real Madrid. Do they really need him? I would say no. Los Blancos have been doing so well under Zizou since he took over from Rafael Benitez (Well, barring the slip up of late) and have no room for Alli right now. This would stall the incredible youngster's career which would be an unfortunate thing for the Spurs prodigy.
In Zidane’ s 3-man midfield, Alli should not find it hard to slot into one of the two box to box midfielders’ position but realistically Kroos and Modric are irreplaceable in those two positions when they are available. Another gifted young midfielder who is pretty similar to Alli in terms of style of play, Mateo Kovacic, has struggled for playing time when both Kroos and Modric were fit. So, we cannot claim that Alli will get plenty of chances if he moves to the Spanish capital club.
Now aged 20, Alli is a key player for both Spurs and England but he is still an unfinished article. The best decision for his career would be to stay put at Spurs for at least two or three more years and keep learning under Pochettino who is one of those managers who can inspire a young player to become a world beater. The whole team around Alli is young and they are learning from each other week in week out.
He would feel lost and unimportant at Santiago Bernabeu around superstars of the game like Ronaldo, Bale, Modric, Kroos, Ramos et al which would impact his game.
Alli has scored 11 goals and provided 2 assists in 21 Premier League outings this campaign which is an incredible figure. The way he makes late runs into the box, makes us remind of a certain Frank Lampard. Remember his amazing goal against Crystal Palace last season from outside of the box on a half-turn? It takes someone to be really special to score such a worldie at the age of 19 in his debut season in the Premier League.
After a slow start to the season this time out, Alli has picked up his game of late and that has resulted in Spurs to leapfrog ahead of the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City to move to the second spot. Spurs need him badly to keep up their progress and the same goes for Alli.
The examples of Isco and Kovacic
Before the gifted young midfielder makes a decision over his future, we would give him a reminder of what happened to Isco a few years back. He was the European Golden Boy at that time after his scintillating season with Malaga. However, after three and half seasons at Real Madrid, he is nowhere close to where he looked destined to be.
Mateo Kovacic also suffered a similar fate. When he moved to Real Madrid from Inter Milan saying no to a host of clubs, he was touted as the most promising midfielder in Europe. Look at him now. He is nothing more than just a benchwarmer.
Real Madrid is never a destination for a promising young player. You have to be superstars like Ronaldo or Bale in order to strive at the club which Alli is clearly not right now. Probably after two or three years, he will become that sort of a player who would be an automatic choice in the starting XI but he is not that big a player yet. Real Madrid is a destination for the stars of the game which Alli can realistically become in the next few years. Only then, he will be a guaranteed starter for the Blancos.
Even magical Luka Modric had a troublesome start to life at Real when he moved from Spurs a few years back even though he was a gifted midfielder. From Real Madrid’s history of believing in stardom rather than just talent, it will be advisable for Alli to stay focused on his game and not consider a move anytime sooon. Enjoy your game lad! Big things will definitely come for you.