Pochettino: Dele needs good people around him

MAURICIO POCHETTINO believes Tottenham star Dele Alli could put his future at risk if he doesn’t have the right people around him. Spurs manager Pochettino has made the claim in his warts-and-all book Brave New World, a diary of last season at White Hart Lane. Writing about Alli, Pochettino said: ‘The danger remains, as is often the case, that he will forget what has got him to this point. ‘I have had to repeat to him this season (2016-17). The other risk is whether those around him know how to treat a top-level professional. ‘His WhatsApp photo of a cartoon of a boy surrounded by people who all want a piece of him suggests that he needs to be surrounded by the right people.’ Pochettino believes Alli can one day be better than previous England internationals Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard. But the Spurs boss said: ‘I often think about that WhatsApp photo. John McDermott (Spurs academy chief) says that when the trough is full, the pigs come from all over to feed. ‘The coach used to be the dominant voice but now the (modern) player listens to so many others, especially those who promise the world.’ Alli has been linked to foreign clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in recent years and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is known to be angry and suspicious of where the stories come from. Tottenham signed the 21-year-old from MK Dons in 2015 and he has gone on to become one of the most gifted midfielders in the English game.