Dele Alli’s career has taken another hit after the Besiktas manager singled him out for performing ‘below expectations.’
Alli joined the Turkish Super Lig after his seven-year spell at Tottenham ended in January when he was sold to Everton. He was loaned to the Black Eagles after failing to impress Frank Lampard.
The move was intended to jump-start the 26-year-career, old’s but Senol Gunes’ recent comments have dimmed those hopes.
‘I couldn’t affect the players [yet], now I can easily get through to them, but we haven’t gotten through to Dele Alli yet,’ new boss Gunes said ahead of their rematch with Galatasaray.
Let’s not get into Dele Alli as a player, but he is underperforming in terms of efficiency.’
Gunes was only appointed Besiktas coach last week, but his harsh assessment of Alli’s performances demonstrates the reputation he’s already built in Turkey.
In his first match as manager, against Umraniyespor, the England international was taken off at halftime after a disappointing first 45 minutes, despite his team-leading 2-1.
The former Tottenham Hotspur star has been largely underwhelming since joining the club, with only one goal and no assists since joining Besiktas in the summer.
He’s left a lot to be desired, having only made seven appearances for the Black Eagles since signing on for a loan deal with a £6 million buy-out option in August.
After scoring in his second game for the club in a Super Lig match against Ankaragucu, it appeared that the move would restart his career.
The 26-year-old drifted into the box and met a header from Burnley loanee Wout Weghorst, producing a neat first-time finish.
However, in the six Super Lig games since then, he has failed to find the back of the net.
After falling out of favor at Tottenham, Alli joined Everton in January but struggled to make the first-team squad and was loaned out after seven months.
It’s a sad decline for the player who burst onto the scene at Tottenham as one of the country’s hottest talents and went on to make 37 appearances for his country.
His best season was arguably in 2016-17 when he scored 18 Premier League goals to help Tottenham finish second in the table.
However, he fell out of favor with Antonio Conte after failing to impress at the end of Mauricio Pochettino’s reign, which was followed by Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo.