Rio Ferdinand shares verdict on Dele Alli after Tottenham loss against Ajax

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Rio Ferdinand explained that Tottenham’s Dele Alli wasn’t as effective in midfield during the Champions League defeat to Ajax on Tuesday night.

Spurs suffered a 1-0 home loss against the Dutch giants in the first leg of a Champions League semi-final.

The North London club remain in the tie ahead of next week, but struggled early on against an eye-catching Ajax and the visitors scored an away goal through Donny van de Beek.

Pundit Ferdinand singled out Alli after the game and feels that perhaps manager Mauricio Pochettino got it wrong with his positioning.

The 23-year-old tried to influence play from the centre of the park and target man Fernando Llorente spearheaded the attack, but very little paid off for him.

“You’ve got to play Alli near the striker. Dele Alli in midfield just doesn’t look the same player,” Ferdinand said on BT Sport 2 channel (10:00pm, 30 April).

“His best asset is running onto things, running onto the box. He is great at doing that and scored many goals in the last couple of years, but when you drop him into midfield, the dimensions of the game change.

“I feel he sees the game better from a further forward position.”

TBR’s View:

Alli was on the fringes for Spurs on Tuesday night and he couldn’t quite step up when his team when they desperately needed him.

It was crying out for the England international in the absence of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son, but he struggled to influence play going forward for the Premier League outfit.

Pochettino’s side remain right in the European tie despite defeat and the return of Son in the final third will boost them massively.

Alli has just seven goals across all competitions this season and perhaps Ferdinand is spot on that he needs a more attacking role, as he netted double in the last campaign.