According to Everton manager Frank Lampard, Dele Alli’s career could end up in ruins if he doesn’t rediscover the drive that made him one of the game’s brightest young stars.
Seven months after joining Everton from Tottenham, Alli recently made a season-long loan move to Besiktas.
Just four years ago, Alli was a key member of Gareth Southgate’s England World Cup squad, scoring in the quarter-final win over Sweden and had been named PFA Young Player of the Year twice.
Alli’s move to Goodison Park was meant to rejuvenate the 26-year-old’s career, but he has played only 13 times for the Toffees, 12 of those as a substitute.
“I do have great empathy for the trajectory of his career in a sense because it is clear to see. I don’t have to dress that up in any way,” Lampard said at his pre-match press conference ahead of Everton’s away Premier League tie with Brentford on Saturday.
“Having worked closely with him for a period, I have to say he really does need to understand the relation of training and focus on what that means to perform at the highest level.
“It’s not just the Dele story, I would say that to any player because it’s the only thing I know.
“I wasn’t a saint, but I know what training can do and focus can do, and that’s something he really has to take on board.
“If he can, it can be not just a great thing for him but for the team-mates around him in the squad. He’s at that point. That is the test for him now.”