Dele Alli sent birthday messages by Kyle Walker, James Maddison and Son Heung-min as Everton's forgotten man turns 28

Former Tottenham star Dele turned 28 on Thursday (April 11) and received multiple heart-warming messages from some ex-team-mates and opponents of his down the years. In an Instagram story, the ex-England international posted the remarks from Manchester City's Walker, Spurs duo Son and Maddison, Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters, and Chelsea's Ben Chilwell.

Dele's former Tottenham team-mate Son wrote: "@dele, Happy birthday my brother," followed by Chelsea's Ben Chilwell commenting: "Happy birthday family love heart @dele."

Ex-Spurs defender Walker-Peters posted: "Happy birthday my brother," while Walker added: "Happy birthday my little brother."

Maddison rounded off the Instagram story with a picture of the pair pulling funny faces, with the Spurs man writing: "Happy birthday brother! Love ya."

Dele hasn't played first-team competitive football since February 2023 when he was on loan from Everton at Besiktas. The 28-year-old, who has been out with a thigh problem that forced him to undergo surgery, is out of contract at Goodison Park this summer and is likely to leave as a free agent at the end of the campaign.

Dele, who shed light on his personal trauma growing up and how he had been in rehab last year, was back on the grass for training in late February but the attacking midfielder may still miss the rest of the season with this injury.