Antonio Conte is the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur, and that could spell trouble for midfield outcast Dele Alli.
The 25-year-old’s career has slumped in recent seasons, not only is he out of the side currently but he’s also a long way off England reckoning.
Things looked to have been different very early on this season as Nuno Santo opted to start him in Spurs’ opening six league games. And he looked like his former self when scoring against the Portuguese’s former club, Wolves.
However, the £27m-rated star was a half-time casualty during their embarrassing north London derby defeat to Arsenal right before the international break and he has not really been seen since.
Just like under Jose Mourinho, who famously branded him “lazy” in more colourful terms during Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries, Alli now finds himself at a crossroads in his career once more.
Given the Italian’s strict methods and training regimes, he should be running scared for his future in north London.
In an interview with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry for Sky Sports, Conte was asked how he would deal with problematic players, the sorts that maybe do not want to give their all on the training pitch.
“I always talk about education and respect. I give this, but I demand it,” he replied. “If someone doesn’t have the right attitude during training or the right behavior, under different circumstances, then I’d rather kill them.”
At both Chelsea and Inter Milan, the 52-year-old implemented diet plans for the players to follow in order to benefit their health and performance. Evidently, this is a key part of his plan as it brought home a Premier League and Serie A title.
Alli was dubbed a “freak of a talent” who was up there with Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrard by Lilywhites legend Darren Anderton during one of his best-ever seasons, in which he provided a whopping 18 goals and seven assists in the Premier League.
However, since the start of the 2020/21 season, the Englishman has only bagged three times and provided five assists across all competitions alone, as per WhoScored, so the regression has been alarming.
With Mourinho’s comments over how poorly Alli trains, it would be a surprise to see him become a favourite under Conte. In fact, the opposite should be expected and as such, he could be running out of time in N17.
Conte’s appointment could be the final nail in the coffin for a once hugely promising sensation.
AND in other news, Spurs could finally replace Christian Eriksen by signing £58.5m-rated “elite talent”…