Pundit berates ‘escapee’ Dele Alli who has ‘wasted everybody’s time’ including ‘his own’

Ciaran McCarthy
Dele Alli, Besiktas, January 2023

Simon Jordan has berated Dele Alli who he believes looks like “an escapee,” as he feels he has “wasted everybody’s time” and is a “shadow of his former self.”

Alli was sent out on loan to Besiktas from Everton for this campaign, in a move that was designed to get him back into form. That came after a move from Tottenham to the Toffees in January 2022 which saw him play 13 times in the second half of last season.

Things did not particularly go to plan in Turkey, as Alli played just 15 times for Besiktas. After picking up an injury at the back end of his spell, he returned to England.

That came after manager Senol Gunes revealed the Englishman went AWOL from training, before Alli himself responded publicly by saying the club had given him “permission to attend a doctor’s appointment”.

The latest developments in his career have not been received well by some. Pundit Jordan has berated Alli for squandering the opportunities that he has had.

“Dele Alli, for two or three years now, has wasted everybody’s time,” Jordan said on talkSPORT.

“His own, his employers’, his teammates’. He’s a shadow of himself and he’s chosen this path.

“He’s chosen this path beyond documentaries like ‘All or Nothing’ where you get to see a laughing, gurning idiot being told by his manager that he doesn’t train very well.”

Jordan felt the move to Everton was a step down and one that Alli made very little of anyway.

While it could have been seen that the midfielder joining another big name, though not in the best shape currently, was an opportunity to get back up to speed after his form at Tottenham slowed, the pundit did not perceive things that way.

“You get to see someone turning up at Everton on a move which was a downward move in terms of there was no real fee involved. That was the valuation of him and he turns up on a pitch looking like a refugee as I said before,” Jordan added.

“An escapee is a better word, from Pirates of the Caribbean, without any form of understanding of the fact he’s going to play for one of the big Premier League clubs and perhaps he should turn up looking like someone who respects the environment he’s in.”

While Alli’s not been in the best form of late, there are certainly better times to go after a footballer. The media has jumped on his back after off-field antics came to light and it seems somewhat irresponsible to pile onto that.

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