Dele down but Poch’s still a fan

THE international break won’t offer Dele Alli any refuge from his ongoing Tottenham nightmare.

The 24-year-old (below) who finds himself out in the cold under Jose Mourinho at Spurs, isn’t in England manager Gareth Southgate’s plans either.

Alli, unceremoniously hooked at half-time in the Europa League tie against Royal Antwerp, is left wondering when he might play another senior game.

More puzzling, according to those close to him, was why Spurs rejected three offers in the last window from Paris Saint-Germain to take the out-of-favour star on loan.

Former Spurs ace Clive Allen asked: “Surely the only way out now is for Dele to go on loan in January? He is obviously desperately low on confidence and needs to go and play regularly.

“Substituting someone at half-time isn’t going to help in that regard.”

Lack of action – he has only been involved for 66 minutes in the Premier League so far this season – has cost Alli any chance of an England recall too.

It’s a real fall from grace for a player described by his former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino on TV last week as having a similar charisma to Brazil star Ronaldinho, a former PSG team-mate of Poch.

So perhaps, if Pochettino got a call from, say, Old Trafford soon, Alli’s future might start looking brighter.