Former Coventry City striker, Noel Whelan claimed that Mauricio Pochettino went a bit over the top with his praise for Dele Alli but admitted that he can see the Argentine taking the midfielder with him to his next club.
Pochettino was a guest on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football last week and he claimed on the show that Alli’s charisma and the excitement that he inspires among youngsters is similar to that of Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho (as relayed by Football.London).
The Telegraph reported last week that Pochettino could be willing to make an offer for the out-of-favour Spurs midfielder upon his return to management.
The former Tottenham manager was heavily linked with the Manchester United hot seat last week (Manchester Evening News) but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems to have secured his future at least temporarily after the Red Devils’ 3-1 win at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Whelan admitted that the 24-year-old needs to leave Tottenham to seek a new challenge.
The pundit told Football Insider: “I think Pochettino would possibly look to sign Dele Alli. He is a decent player but he should not be compared to Maradona – he is not.
“It is a great bit of praise from Pochettino for a player that has not done anything for 18 months.
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“I guess you always see managers that have had players before. Managers always go back there because they know they can trust them.
“At the minute Jose Mourinho is not getting the best out of Dele Alli and Dele Alli is not getting an opportunity because he has failed to take them in the past.
“Maybe his time at Tottenham is coming to an end and he might need a change, a change of manager.
“Something is not right there. The managers and the players are not getting the best out of one another. A fantastic player but we have not seen it for 18 months.”
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