Dele won’t be frozen out but squad is a ‘puzzle’, says Jose
JOSE MOURINHO says Dele Alli could still have a future at Tottenham, despite being left out of the win at Southampton.
Alli, who was substituted at half-time in last week’s defeat to Everton, was not involved in the matchday squad for the 5-2 triumph, having also not travelled to Bulgaria for the Europa League qualifier against Plovdiv last Thursday.
Reports have linked him with a move to Paris Saint-Germain and Alli was training at the club’s north London base while
Son Heung-min scored four goals, all set up by Harry Kane – who added the fifth himself – in a romp on the south coast.
‘I want a balanced squad, that’s what I want,’ said Mourinho when asked whether he would like Alli to stay. ‘No he doesn’t need to be sacrificed, but the squad is a puzzle.
‘I left eight players behind. They stayed and trained this morning. I cannot start with all of them and I cannot have a bench without defenders or midfielders. In the same way the squad is a puzzle, the bench is also a little puzzle. Probably Tuesday [against Orient] he will play and others he will stay out.’
Mourinho has two new pieces for his puzzle with the signings of Gareth Bale and Sergio Reguilon, and the Welshman is confident his new boss can deliver trophies to Spurs.
Bale, who will not be fit until next month due to a knee injury, said: ‘He’s a winner and he’s the perfect fit for Tottenham. We all want to win trophies. He knows how to better than anyone.’