Bale signing leaves Alli’s Spurs future in realm of doubt

LONDON: Of the Totenham Hotspur players impacted by the loan signing of Gareth Bale from Real Madrid, Dele Alli appears the most vulnerable but manager Jose Mourinho has said he will not be sacrificed in the transfer window.

Bale will not be ready to resume his Tottenham career until October as he regains fitness, but when he does it is likely to be in an atacking trio with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Alli burst into the spotlight at Totenham in 2015-16 when he was named PFA Young Player of the Year and made his England debut but his form has dipped to such an extent that he has lost his place in Jose Mourinho’s side.

Let out of Gareth Southgate’s last England squad too, Alli, now aged 24, is at something of a crossroads.

His preferred position, playing just behind a front two, looks tailor-made for Bale and Mourinho also has an abundance of atacking options in the form of Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn, Giovani Lo Celso and Erik Lamela.

“I want a balanced squad, that’s what I want,” Mourinho said when asked whether he wanted Alli to stay. “He doesn’t need to be sacrificed, but the squad is a puzzle.”

“The only thing I can say is that I let eight players behind,” he added. “They stayed and trained this morning because they are a big group and Dele is amongst these players.”

Mourinho demands a high work ethic and a recent behind-the-scenes documentary about Totenham featured one episode in which Mourinho tells Alli he is “lazy” and later, in a one-to-one chat, warns him that he could regret not reaching his potential.

Alli was linked with a move to Real Madrid as part of the deal that eventually saw Bale rejoin Totenham on loan. Paris Saint-germain are reportedly interested in the atacking midfielder.

It is understood that Alli wants to stay and fight for his place but the return of Wales star Bale and the improving form of Tanguy Ndombele place even greater pressure on him.

With three weeks of the transfer window let, Alli’s name is already being linked with a move to Paris St Germain, but his stock is not what it was when he scored twice for Totenham in their first ever win against Real Madrid in 2017.

Former Totenham midfielder Michael Brown believes it might be in everyone’s best interests if Alli were to be sold.