Dele Alli – Tottenham Hotspur

Dele Alli Profile

Dele Alli has firmly established himself as a key player for Spurs and England since making it on to the professional scene.

Alli began his career at MK Dons. He initially signed for Spurs in February 2015 but returned to the League One team to see out the 2014-15 season. He had a glistening season scoring 16 times in 39 appearances helping MK Dons secure automatic promotion to the Championship alongside Bristol City. His prolific goal scoring record did not go unrecognised, and his efforts were rewarded with the award of the Football League’s Young Player of the Season.

Dele Alli then returned to the Lane during the 2015-16 campaign and bagged his first goal for Spurs in a 1-1 draw with Leicester City, two weeks after making his Premier League debut away against Manchester United. His confidence increased with every match that season and Alli finished with 10 Premier League goals; one of which, won Match of the Day’s goal of the season. Not only that, but Alli was named the PFA Young Player of the Year and earned a spot in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the 2015-16 season.

In his next season for Spurs, Alli established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League in a stunning 2016-17 campaign which saw him score 22 goals in 50 games in a Spurs shirt. He was rightfully showered with accolades in this season, picking up: a second consecutive PFA Young Player award, PFA Player of the Month award, PFT Team of the Year award, and Supporter’s Goal of the Year!

The season after Alli was not as prolific for Spurs but still had an impressive year, scoring 14 goals from 50 appearances in all competitions. This included a strike against Newcastle in the first game of the season as well as a double against Chelsea as Spurs won at Stamford Bridge for the first time in 28 years.

The 2018/19 campaign started in similar fashion with a goal away against Newcastle to seal all three points for Spurs. Alli was also named Spurs captain for the first time in their Carabao Cup victory over Watford. The fixture was played at Stadium MK so was a return to the ground where Alli learned his trade. In October 2018, Alli signed a new long term contract for Spurs, which will keep him at the club until 2024.

Dele Alli made his first international appearance in 2015, scoring on his debut against Spurs teammate Hugo Lloris and represented England in all four of their Euro 2016 fixtures after his breakthrough season in the Premier League. He also appeared for England in the 2018 World Cup, scoring in the quarter-final against Sweden.