Dele Alli had ‘no limit’ & ‘could have been like Jude Bellingham’ before it all went wrong for injury-ravaged former Tottenham star

The former England international made his way to north London in 2015 when Spurs won the race for his signature. Despite stepping up into the Premier League from League One outfit MK Dons, Dele quickly established himself as one of the brightest young stars in world football.

His career has gone off the rails since then, with injury struggles at Everton preventing him from making the desired impact on Merseyside as free agency beckons in 2024. Dele could have been in the same talent bracket as current Real Madrid and England star Bellingham had things worked out differently, with his ability never in question.

Ex-Spurs team-mate Davies has told the Gab & Juls Show of the now 27-year-old midfielder: “Dele was incredible when he turned up. He was a young kid from Milton Keynes, and he got thrown into first team training, and he would just do stuff. It was like playing for fun. And I think to start with, the management, the staff probably were like, ‘What’s this kid doing? Play properly, get the ball, play here.’ He would just, like, ball comes to feet, step over it, tries to go through other people’s legs. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, trying to flick the ball. But then we went pre-season again, went and played against Real Madrid, and it was ‘The Dele Show’ from there.

“This was a kid for whom, there was no difference in level of opposition. That’s probably the best way I can describe it. What he did in League One, he would try and do against Modric, against Kroos, these guys. It was irrelevant who he was playing against. He had the self-confidence, I think he’s spoken about it, which is like the bravery. And when he – that season when he just was breaking through, scoring goals for fun, it was insane. There was no limit for him. He could have at that time been similar to, like, a Bellingham kind of player now. Someone who maybe not technically as good as Jude is, but ultimately the game comes down to scoring goals. He used to find a way to score and assist pretty much every game. And he used to just cause nightmares for opposition.”

Dele has endured a tough time on and off the field of late and would appear to require a fresh start somewhere in order to rekindle a lost spark and rediscover the kind of form that once made him a transfer target for Real Madrid.