‘Anyone else I would have let him get sent off’ - Kyle Walker explains why he leapt to Dele Alli’s defence during nightmare Como debut for ex-Tottenham star against AC Milan

Former England international Dele is looking to rebuild his career in Italy after working his way through a testing period on and off the field. After severing ties with Everton as a free agent, the 28-year-old accepted a surprising offer from Serie A.

After two years without a competitive appearance, Dele stepped off the bench for Como during a meeting with Milan at San Siro on March 15. He lasted less than 10 minutes, with an ill-timed tackle on ex-Three Lions team-mate Ruben Loftus-Cheek leading to him being sent from the field following a VAR review.

Walker, who has played alongside Dele for Spurs and England, tried to talk the match officials out of their dismissal decision - despite being on the opposing side. He has told The Kyle Walker Podcast of that surprising behaviour: “I think my heart kicked in. Anyone else, I would have just let him get sent off. Especially a man down at the San Siro, you think, okay, we go and do what we've got to do.

“I know what he's tried to do. We've all done it where you just clip the ankles of someone and they don't get the counter attack. But maybe where he's not played for a couple of years and is out of the rhythm of the game and everything like that, he's caught Ruben a little bit too high. And that was it.

“Of course, I think in footballing terms, we need ten men. We want the ten men, AC Milan want the ten men. But for the personal relationship that I have with Dele, for the number of years that I've known Dele, for what he's been through - which obviously he's publicly said and I think he's been very strong and open about that and very brave in coming out and saying what he said - to finally come back after such a long time of being out, to then get sent off for a not really cynical challenge. I think your heart just kicks in, as I said at the start.”

Walker added: “I went to see him after because he's a great friend of mine. And he was down, he was disappointed. He was frustrated with himself for the decision. But there were no hard feelings from Ruben. I think they actually got a plane on the way back home (to England) together. That was the rumour. Dele came to the dressing room after (to see Ruben). He was hugging. It's just football. We move on from it. And you know, Dele has to move on from it, very quickly, to make sure that he's back to where he needs to be.

“I know how hard he has worked, especially off the field. And then to get his chance now at Como, I think it's fantastic. I think it's a good club. Good league for him to try and regenerate and revive his career - and I will say I don't think his career was by any means dead and buried.”

Dele is about to turn 29, with time still on his side when it comes to rediscovering a lost spark. Walker, meanwhile, is waiting to see what the future holds for him at 34 - with Milan needing to speak with Manchester City if they want to make his loan transfer permanent.