Jose admits Dele ‘puzzle’ as PSG eye absent star

TOTTENHAM midfielder Dele Alli’s future was plunged into further uncertainty yesterday when he was dropped from the squad who recorded a 5-2 win at Southampton. The midfielder, who is not injured, did not travel with the squad who faced Lokomotiv Plovdiv in Bulgaria on Thursday and wasn’t included in Jose Mourinho’s plans again yesterday. The decision to omit Alli — who is the subject of interest from Paris Saint-Germain — from the squad who travelled to St Mary’s left his teammates stunned. They had expected him to return after being left out of Europa League action. On Thursday, Sportsmail revealed the growing uncertainty over Alli’s future and his continued absence has strengthened those doubts. Alli is a long-term target for PSG, and the French champions are understood to have started to explore a possible move for the 24-year-old ahead of the transfer deadline on October 5. A season-long loan appears to be the most likely exit route if he leaves this summer. Chairman Daniel Levy is likely to be reluctant to let Alli leave permanently given the depressed market caused by Covid — particularly for a player who not long ago was valued in the region of £100million. Tottenham would also prefer to loan Alli to an overseas club so as not to strengthen a domestic rival. When asked directly whether he wanted to keep the midfielder, Mourinho said yesterday: ‘I want a balanced squad. That’s what I want. Can he still be in a balanced squad? Yes. ‘Does he need to be sacrificed? No. But a squad is a puzzle.’ When asked if Alli could be sold, Mourinho, who said the midfielder could play against Leyton Orient in the Carabao Cup tomorrow, added: ‘I left eight players behind, they stayed training this morning because they are a big group and Dele is among these players. ‘You could see our team, I cannot start with all of them and I cannot have a bench without defenders or midfielders. ‘Everything is a puzzle so, in these two matches Dele stayed out, probably Tuesday he will play and others will stay out.’