‘Always had that drive’: £85k-a-week ace raves about ‘quality’ Spurs midfielder

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Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier has waxed lyrical about Dele Alli, tipping his Spurs teammate to bounce back from falling out of favour under Jose Mourinho this season.

The 24-year-old midfielder has missed out on seven Tottenham matchday squads this season, making just six appearances for Mourinho’s side, with a mere three starts in all competitions.

Furthermore, Alli has been subbed off at half time in two matches this term, first coming off against Everton in the Premier League and then at Antwerp in the Europa League last Thursday.

Despite Alli’s struggle for game time, Dier has backed his fellow England international to fight for his place and win Mourinho over once again.

“Dele has the capacity, we all know his quality, we all know what he brings, he’s shown that in the past,” the £85,000-a-week centre-back is quoted by Sky Sports as saying.

“It’s really up to him to put in the work, the effort, the commitment and I’m sure he will do that.

“That’s who he is, he’s always had that drive. It’s up to him, it’s in his hands and it’s in all of our hands.

“Individually, we all have to perform, we’ve got a very big squad and we all have to perform at the highest level if we want to play.”

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While Alli may have struggled for form at times, the talent and quality is there, as shown by his impressive displays over the years, including against Maccabi Haifa and Manchester United this term.

However, he’s getting little game time as it is, and after being hauled off at half time twice in one season, he has some serious thinking to do over his future come January if things persist as they are.