Gary Neville admits he thought 25-year-old Spurs player was going to be worth £100m just two years ago

By John Verrall

Gary Neville has suggested live on Sky Sports that he thought Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli was going to be worth £100 million.

Valuable asset

Alli was once England’s biggest hope in attacking midfielder, but the Tottenham playmaker has been overtaken by plenty of other compatriots now.

Jack Grealish has just earned himself a £100 million move to Manchester City this summer, while Alli had his worst season in a Tottenham shirt last term.

And Neville admits that he once thought Alli was going to be worth £100 million.

“If you said to me two or three seasons ago who would be a £100 million player out of Jack Grealish and Dele Alli, I would have said Dele Alli,” Neville said.

“He has lost his way in the last couple of years. It’s a critical season for him, he has got to get back to what he was, simplify his game in the middle third and then making those runs into the box.”

A route back?

Alli does at least look like being handed a chance to work his way back into Tottenham’s team under Nuno.

He has not been given quite as an advanced role as he is, perhaps, most comfortable in.

However, Alli did a good job for his side yesterday as Tottenham picked up a 1-0 win over Manchester City.

At his very best, Alli was a major goal threat for Spurs – but yesterday he put in a real defensive shift, to showcase both sides of his game.

And Alli looks likely to have done enough to keep his place in Tottenham’s starting line-up, ahead of their next game against Wolves.