'I know my level' - Dele Alli reveals 2026 World Cup & Premier League transfer ambition as he closes on return to Everton training ahead of hitting free agency

The 28-year-old midfielder, who is on the books at Everton, has not played a competitive game of any kind since February 26, 2023 – during a forgettable loan spell at Turkish side Besiktas. He has become stuck in an injury nightmare since then, and will hit free agency at the end of the current campaign when his contract at Goodison Park expires.

Dele does, however, have over 50 Premier League goals and 37 England caps to his name and is refusing to give up on playing his way into 2026 World Cup plans. He has told Sky Sports: “I know my level as a player and what I can get to. I know how good I can be when my head is in the right place and I'm feeling good. Obviously I'm disappointed with the injury right now but I'm excited to get playing. It's hard for me to even watch football. It's been tough for me, I'd say, this past eight months has been hard to watch. You know you can set reminders on your phone, I have a reminder at 11 o'clock every day that says, ‘World Cup 2026’. That's my aim for now. I think that people will be like, ‘he hasn't played in a year’ but I don't care, I know my level. The only target I have is the World Cup right now. Obviously I'm injured and contracted to Everton and so my mind is just about taking it day by day and making sure my injury is healed and that I'm in the best possible condition after the summer. It's annoying because I'll be just fully training as the season ends so it means that I won't have to rush it.”

While Dele has been out of sight and mind of late, he is hoping to land another Premier League opportunity when hitting free agency. He added on his future: “I'm signed to Everton so I think it'd be disrespectful to say anything else while I'm here. They've been so amazing with me and I don't know if it's off the cards being there next season so I won't talk about any of that because they've been amazing and I don't know the details of the situation but I want to stay in the Premier League and be at the highest level and playing against the best players. It's exciting. Some players might panic and think, ‘I'm out of contract in the summer’ but this is a great opportunity to show myself and show what an amazing story it has been and what it's going to continue to be.”

Dele became a 20-goal-a-season star while at Tottenham, and graced the 2018 World Cup with his country, but issues on and off the field have contributed to him losing a professional spark that needs to be reignited if he is to chase down a new set of targets.