Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has vowed to call Dele Alli and try and ‘help’ get his career back on track, a year and six months on from leaving Tottenham.
The England international signed for Everton, where he has failed to maintain fitness and nail down a consistent spot in the team.
Last season, Dele went on loan to Besiktas where once again he struggled for minutes. And, he ultimately ended his spell there after an alleged fallout with manager Senol Gunes.
The 27-year-old enjoyed the best spell of his career at Tottenham, mostly under Pochettino. Between 2015 and 2022, the midfielder netted 67 goals in 269 appearances while earning 37 caps for England.
However, Dele has since endured a spectacular downfall and Pochettino admitted he is eager to contact his former player and “help” him.
On speaking to Dele, Pochettino said: “I hope to have some time to call and see because he is a great guy and I want to talk a little bit with him.”
“I want to help him and see what is going on with him. He is still young. And for sure he has the mentality.
“Now it’s a long time since I spoke to him but I want to contact him again and see what is going on.”
At Everton, Dele has so far made 13 appearances across all competitions, failing to score a single goal.
Although, he did put in a good performance in the Toffees’ penultimate game of the 2021/22 season against Crystal Palace.
The attacking midfielder was brought on at half time when they were 2-0 down, but he helped them secure a fantastic 3-2 comeback win to keep them in the Premier League.
Now, Everton fans will be hoping Dele can rediscover the form he showed at Tottenham at Goodison Park.
In a recent interview, Sean Dyche suggested a decision on his future will be based on his performances in pre-season.
“There isn’t anything other than getting him fit. I’ve heard all the noise, I’ve heard all the opinions and I’m pretty sure you’re aware that I like to make my own,” Dyche said.
“But he needs to get fit. I’ve met him but I haven’t seen him train, I haven’t seen him play for Everton, I haven’t seen him train with us every day.”
One thing that may make a resurgence difficult at Everton, however, is the terms of his contract. The Toffees signed Dele on a ‘conditional free transfer.’
However, if he plays a certain amount of matches for them, Everton will be forced to pay add-ons. The first payment is €12m (£10.2m) after 20 appearances. The fee could reach €35-40m for Dele but of that depends individual and team performances.
So, it will be interesting to see if Dyche gives Dele a second chance at Everton in the coming season.
READ MORE: Paris Saint-Germain battling for senior Tottenham star; Levy won’t let him leave on a free transfer
