Gary Neville has admitted he thought Dele Alli was the ‘modern day Roy Keane’ during his time at Tottenham Hotspur.
The former Manchester United defender hosted an interview with Dele for ‘The Overlap’ YouTube channel, where the 27-year-old opened up on an extremely difficult few years.
Dele hit the headlines when he joined Spurs from MK Dons in 2015 and quickly became one of the Premier League’s best performing players.
Despite still being a teenager, Dele scored a unbelievable 28 goals in his first two seasons in North London – but things all changed a few years later.
The midfielder’s dramatic decline with Spurs eventually resulted in him being sold to Everton in January 2022 as he looked to rediscover himself.
However, Dele did quite the opposite and was eventually shipped out on loan to Besiktas, where his poor form continued.
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Dele, Everton and fans are desperate to see him get back to his best, while Gary Neville has claimed he is concerned about the player he once thought was the ‘modern day Roy Keane’.
Ahead of his interview with Dele, Neville said: “I worked with Dele whilst I was with England as a coach. I absolutely loved him when he was with England and he was playing under Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs, just in that number 10 role.
“I just thought he was the modern day Brian Robson or the modern day Roy Keane in terms of a box-to-box midfielder, but it has no doubt changed over the last few years.
“Dele has got nowhere near the level he was playing at during that 2015-16 season and we want to know why that it is. I’m concerned about him because when you see someone drop off like he has from the ability he has then you always think what’s going on in the lad’s life.”
Everton’s lack of midfielders could pave the way for Dele Alli
Everton have let go of Tom Davies and Andros Townsend this summer, while Amadou Onana and Andres Gomes also potentially on their way out of the club.
Sean Dyche has limited quality options in midfield ahead of the new season, with Football Transfers even reporting that Alex Iwobi could also be sold.
While Dele Alli has struggled on Merseyside, he still has a lot of talent and the lack of depth in the middle of the park should allow him to be given a chance this season.
Everton will undoubtedly look to bring in additions in that area of the pitch, however they should take into consideration what Dele could bring to the side if he can kick on in his first full season at Goodison Park.