‘Dele Alli a great kid’

Spurs boss praises off-target 21-year-old ahead of Chelsea clash

TOTTENHAM Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino says people should remember that midfielder Dele Alli is only 21 years old and that while he has failed to reach the heights of last season he has a bright future ahead for club and country.

Alli has scored only six times in 29 Premier League appearances for Spurs this campaign and his place in England’s World Cup team is far from certain after playing 22 minutes of two friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy this month.

He scored 18 league goals last season.

But Pochettino said Alli, who was nursing a slight groin problem during the international window, would get all the support he needed to achieve his goals.

“I have full confidence in him and his talent and because I know him – he is a great kid and a very good person,” Pochettino told reporters.

“But he is young. He is 21. If you compare with normal people on the street who are 21, they are still living at home with their parents, they are still at university doing stupid things.

“We are going to help him because he is a talented player and a great kid. And he has done a lot for us and the club.”

Tottenham, currently fourth in the league, are hoping to extend their fivepoint advantage over fifthplaced Chelsea when the teams meet at Stamford Bridge tomorrow

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager José Mourinho said yesterday that European soccer has lost a “huge player” in Zlatan Ibrahimovic but the striker will raise the level of the game in the United States following his move to LA Galaxy.

Ibrahimovic last week ended a short but successful stint at United – where he won the League Cup and the Europa League – to become the latest high-profile player to move to the MLS, following the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard.

Mourinho used his news conference ahead of today’s Premier League game against Swansea City to pay tribute to the talismanic Swedish forward who he previously coached at Inter Milan.

“For me it’s always sad when the big players move towards the end,” Mourinho said.

“I remember Luis Figo’s last match with me and Inter, it was one of my saddest moments. The Zlatan goodbye was more in that direction, he’s a huge player that European Football has lost.

“But this period with LA Galaxy will be very good for him, he will be good for American football, because of what he can do; his personality, his passion and also his professionalism.”

Ibrahimovic sustained a bad knee injury in United’s Europa League quarter-final against Belgian side Anderlecht last April but returned to make seven appearances for the Old Trafford side this season.

“His recovery was an example of what a professional should be,” Mourinho added. “For him (the move to US) will just be a way to enjoy the last couple of years of football.”

United will be without back- up goalkeeper Sergio Romero for the weekend’s game, after the Argentine international picked up a knock in his country’s 6- 1 friendly defeat by Spain.

Ashley Young was also injured on international duty with England but could play against Carlos Carvalhal’s 14th-placed side.

United are second in the table on 65 points from 30 games as they bid to finish as runners-up to champions-elect Manchester City.