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In February 2015, Tottenham Hotspur signed Dele Alli for £5m. The midfielder penned a five-and-a-half year deal with the north London side, and was immediately loaned back to MK Dons.
At 18 years of age for a player plying his trade for a League One side, it was a hefty outlay. Tottenham were taking a risk on the teenager. At the time, he'd struck 12 times in 25 appearances. He ended his final season for the Dons with 16 goals across 39 league outings. However, the step up from the third tier of English football to the Premier League was a big one to take. It was one he made with ease.
Dele scored 10 and provided nine assists in his debut season at the club. He added 18 goals and registered a further seven assists in his second campaign in the capital. Successive PFA Young Player of the Year awards served to highlight a player with the world at his feet. Nine goals and 10 assists across the 2017/18 season was another superb haul.
'We've got Alli! Dele Alli!' would reverberate around the old White Hart Lane. He forged a fine attacking partnership with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen in Mauricio Pochettino's favoured 4-2-3-1 setup.
The attacking performances attracted interest from Real Madrid at one stage. However, the showings began to deteriorate in the 2018/19 season. The quality of his displays slipped, owing largely to a series of hamstring complaints during Pochettino's final full season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium helm.
The Argentine's Spurs exit in November 2019 was ultimately the beginning of the end for Dele. Jose Mourinho succeeded Pochettino in north London, and the Portuguese warned the midfielder that an unprofessional attitude could negatively impact his career. In the widely shared scene from the All or Nothing documentary focussed on the 2019/20 season, Dele didn't necessarily adopt a relaxed attitude, nor did he look particularly receptive to Mourinho's comments.
Rather, he sat in the manager's office, arms crossed, and didn't appear to be taking Mourinho's advice on board. Things hardly improved for Dele during his time under the former Chelsea and Inter Milan head coach, though he refused to blame Mourinho for a lack of game time during his short stint at Spurs. "The only person I blame is myself," he said back in 2021.
At one stage, he opened up on personal problems during an episode of The Overlap with Gary Neville, revealing he was sexually abused by a friend of his mother at just six years of age. Dele also admitted that, at one point, he suffered from an addiction to sleeping pills and alcohol. That said, the player himself never used his off-field issues as an excuse for a dip in on-field performances, though such trauma would have impacted anybody regardless of their mental fortitude.
Ultimately, a Spurs career that started with a bang ended with a whimper, and in January 2022, he completed a move to Everton. A fresh start with a change of scenery was seemingly the best course of action for the player. It failed to have the desired effect. Dele managed just one league start in the second half of the 2021/22 season before moving to Turkish side Besiktas later that year.
Everything seemed to be going well for him in Istanbul, though it took a turn for the worse when Senol Gunel took over the reins in October 2022. "Let's not discuss Dele Alli as a player, but he is below expectations in terms of efficiency," Gunel said of Dele shortly after his appointment. He didn't play for Besiktas again after February having scored two goals across 13 league outings. Just as things looked to be falling into place for Dele, everything came tumbling down once more.
The 2023/24 campaign was a write-off due to injury, and while his Everton contract expired in June 2024, the club allowed Dele to use the training facilities as he continued his rehabilitation. A switch to Como followed in January 2025, and another opportunity for a new beginning.
Head coach Cesc Fabregas warned against Dele making an immediate impact, which is to be expected following an 18-month spell away from the game, but in March 2025; the midfielder made his first appearance in over two years as he took to the field in a Serie A clash with Milan. He lasted just nine minutes after a VAR review upgraded his yellow card for a foul on Lucas Da Cunha to a red. Dele was released in September 2025. He hasn't played competitively since.
It's not to say Dele hasn't been trying to remain on top of his fitness in order to secure a move. He was training at Hotspur Way earlier this year. Some fans would even love to see Dele return to the squad to provide a confidence boost. He was reportedly set to move to West Ham United over the summer, while League Two contenders Barnet had been credited with an interest.
On potentially signing Dele, who had been using the club's training facilities, head coach Dean Brennan said: "You'd be mad not to. Everyone deserves a second chance in life." While a move to the Bees is yet to come to fruition, it's an offer that remains on the table for Dele.
In the meantime, however, he has taken to live streaming on Twitch, attracting thousands of viewers as he calls former teammates on air, including James Maddison, Tammy Abraham and Harry Kane, though some, including Eric Dier, opted against answering the phone. It was the call with Kane, however, that really brought to light the fall from grace. "Working hard, I hope?" the Bayern Munich hitman asked, with genuine concern in his voice.
"Always bro. Come on, you know me," Dele replied. He said so with a fragile smile.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel? The player himself confirmed as such on a live stream, stating that "developments are happening behind the scenes". It's not yet confirmed where his next destination will be, but fans everywhere are hoping the possible move comes to fruition, be it with Barnet or elsewhere.
It's truly a sorry state of affairs for a player who, briefly, had the world at his feet. He played with the arrogance and flamboyance of an attacker who looked destined for the very top. The world-class strike against Crystal Palace in January 2016 feels like a lifetime ago. "It makes your heart smile, that sort of goal," Ian Wright said on Match of the Day.
Ask any Spurs fan now, and all they'll want to see is a happy Dele playing football again. At just 30 years of age, there is ample time to return to the game. He may not hit the same heights supporters witnessed in the opening years of his Spurs career, but just watching him back in action would make even the most apathetic of hearts smile.
