Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino lauds Dele Alli’s work-rate in recent months

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In comments reported by Football London, Mauricio Pochettino has suggested that Dele Alli could be incredibly close to rediscovering his best form – and praised the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder for the way he has worked in recent months.

Alli’s form has been a real concern for Spurs for some time now. He scored 37 goals and contributed 26 assists during his first three seasons in the Premier League.

However, the 23-year-old has looked well short of his best perhaps since helping England to the 2018 World Cup semi-final. Alli has only made four appearances so far this term, and is yet to make a significant impact in any of those games.

But Pochettino suggested that he has a good feeling about Alli’s form, adding that he may have benefitted from a quiet international break.

“I had some conversations with Dele, like the last two or three years,” he said, as reported by Football London. “It’s a process always, always it’s about time. He’s young, 23, but I love the way he’s working in the past few months, working hard to be the best, to find the best form.

“That is a process that needs time too. It’s not now I want I get. It’s about working consistently and then suddenly the form you want arrives. I think he’s very close. He is doing well. It was a good opportunity for him in these two weeks to work so hard to make clear things in his head and for us to help him find his best form.”

TBR’s View

Alli is almost a victim of his own success. His form has not been good enough. But expectations are so high for the former MK Dons man because of the impact he made when he arrived at White Hart Lane.

Now he is older and more experienced, more is expected of him. And his struggles are amplified with so many of his teammates also finding it difficult to recapture previous form.

The pressure has potentially increased now that Pochettino has backed Alli to find his best form soon. But it is definitely a positive sign that the Tottenham boss believes that the youngster may soon silence his critics.