Pundit insists Mourinho’s reason for dropping Dele Alli is straight-forward

There has been a lot said and written about Dele Alli over the past month but this week feels like a particularly bad one for the midfielder’s prospects at Tottenham.

Jose Mourinho handed the 24-year-old a start against Royal Antwerp on Thursday which represented just his second start of the campaign so far (transfermarkt.com).

However, the former MK Dons man failed to create anything of any note in the first half and looked off the pace.

Alli was withdrawn at half-time and Mourinho insisted after the game that journalists need to stop asking him why some players do not play as they now had the answer (Football.London).

There has been a mixed reaction on social media from some Spurs fans to Alli’s performance, as well as Mourinho’s criticism.

Some have insisted that it was unfair to single out the England international as the whole team was poor in the first 45 minutes in Belgium.

Others have claimed that the midfielder cannot expect to keep getting opportunities if he continues to put in poor displays.

Mark Lawrenson believes that Dele’s fall from grace can be explained simply by the fact that Spurs are a better team without him.

The pundit told BBC Sport: “People have been asking why Dele Alli hasn’t been playing or Spurs. But we kind of know now, because at the moment it works without him.”

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