Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Bruce asks Alli to ‘play for us’
STEVE Bruce asked Dele Alli to drop down a division and join Aston Villa after the midfielder inspired Tottenham to a 2-0 victory in the FA Cup third round.
But Bruce joked Villa would struggle to pay the “£80 million” Alli might now cost after his recent series of scintillating displays for Spurs.
The 20-year-old came off the bench after an hour at White Hart Lane and it was his dummy that led to Ben Davies heading home the opener before Son Heungmin added a second.
“I asked Dele Alli if he would come and play for us,” a smiling Bruce said after the match.
“He said ‘someday Steve I’d love to’ but I think £80m might be too much for us.
“He certainly changed it for them. He has that quality really top players have. I wished he had sat on the bench, we might have been better off.”
Mauricio Pochettino left Harry Kane out of the squad completely after the striker spent the previous night attending to his partner Kate, who delivered their baby daughter, Ivy Jane, on Sunday morning.
Pochettino admitted he had planned to name Kane as a substitute but decided the striker should catch up on sleep instead.
“It is better now after a 2-0 win t o e x p l a i n ,” Pochettino said. “I want to send from here a big, big heart to Kate, his wife.
“It was a difficult night for her but now it’s OK and they have a beautiful girl. Harry was more tired than his wife and we sent him to sleep.”