Bamidele Jermaine Alli ( ; born 11 April 1996) is an English professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as an
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for club
Beşiktaş, on loan from
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Everton.
Born and raised in
Milton Keynes, he joined the youth system at
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
aged 11 and broke into the first team five years later, during the
2012–13 season. Over the next two-and-a-half years he made 88 official appearances for the team, scoring 24 goals. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2015 for an initial fee of £5 million, being loaned back to the Dons for the remainder of the season. In each of his first two campaigns at
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...
, Alli was voted the
PFA Young Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the s ...
and made the
PFA Team of the Year. He joined Everton in January 2022.
Alli played for the England
U17,
U18 and
U19 teams, before making his senior debut in 2015. He was selected for
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
and the
2018 FIFA World Cup, helping England to the semi-finals of the latter.
Club career
Milton Keynes Dons
Early career
Alli joined the youth system at
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
when he was 11 years old after playing for City Colts.
He made his debut for the first team as a sixteen-year-old on 2 November 2012, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for
Jay O'Shea
James O'Shea (born 10 August 1988) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for A-League club Brisbane Roar.
He is primarily an attacking midfielder, but can also operate as a winger and striker. O'Shea began his career with St Joseph's ...
in a 0–0 draw with
Southern Football League club
Cambridge City in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
first round at Milton Road.
His first touch in professional football was a back-heeled pass.
His first goal came in the replay against Cambridge eleven days later, where he scored in a 6–1 win at
Stadium MK on his first start.
He made his league debut in a 2–3 defeat to
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
at home on 29 December, where he played 71 minutes before being replaced by
Zeli Ismail.
His only other league appearance in the
2012–13 Football League One season, came as a second-half substitute for
Patrick Bamford in the last match of the season, a 2–0 win over
Stevenage at
Broadhall Way
Broadhall Way, known as the Lamex Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is an association football stadium in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. It has been the home ground of Stevenage (formerly Stevenage Borough and Stevenage Town) since the early 1960s, an ...
.
2013–14 season
The 2013–14 season saw Alli break into the MK Dons first team on a regular basis. He started the Dons' first league match of the season, a 0–0 draw away at
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
.
In his first
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
appearance, Alli scored to help MK Dons beat
Northampton Town
Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...
2–0 and thus progress to the second round of the tournament.
On 28 September, Alli scored his first professional league goal in the 4–1 thrashing of Stevenage.
After being in and out of the first team picture in late 2013 due to injury setbacks, Alli would go on and establish himself as a first-choice player in 2014. He scored the opening goal in the 3–2 win over Shrewsbury Town at Stadium mk on 11 January, with a header from
Stephen Gleeson's pinpoint pass.
On 11 March, against
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
at
Meadow Lane
Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 until 2017.
It currently h ...
, aged 17 years and 11 months old, Alli scored a hat-trick to guide the Dons to a 3–1 victory.
His next and final goal of the 2013–14 season, came on 5 April against Coventry City at the
Sixfields Stadium
Sixfields Stadium is a 7,798-capacity all-seater sports stadium in the Sixfields area on the west side of Northampton, England. It has been the home ground of Northampton Town Football Club following their move from the County Ground in Octob ...
; Alli struck a volley from 25 yards out as MK Dons defeated Coventry 2–1.
He made 37 appearances in all competitions during the 2013–14 season, scoring 7 times, with 33 appearances and 6 goals in the league.
2014–15 season
With the departure of Gleeson to
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
in June 2014, Alli became the first-choice central midfield partner to
Darren Potter. He started the season brightly, playing the first league match of the season as the Dons overcame a 2–0 deficit to defeat Gillingham, 4–2. He then helped the team to a 3–1 win over arch-enemies,
AFC Wimbledon, in the League Cup first round. His first goal of the 2014–15 season came in the first away league match, a 3–2 defeat to
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
, where he scored a tap-in from
Will Grigg's deflected shot.
On 26 August, Alli played the full 90 minutes in the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
second round as MK Dons recorded a historic 4–0 win over
Manchester United. It was reported that numerous scouts from top clubs across Europe attended the match to watch him play, including representatives from
Bayern Munich and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
.
In the match after the 4–0 League Cup win over Manchester United, Alli continued his rich vein of form with a goal curled in from the edge of the box in a 2–0 win over
Crawley Town
Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team com ...
. After the international break, Alli played 77 minutes in the 5–3 win against Barnsley, assisting the Dons second goal and scoring their third goal himself with a chip over the Barnsley goalkeeper. He was chosen as the
Football League Young Player of the Month for August.
On 18 September, Alli extended his contract with MK Dons until June 2017. Two days later, in a match against
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
, he scored a hat-trick and achieved one assist in what turned out to be a 6–1 victory for the Dons. It was the second hat-trick of his career and the first he achieved at home, which also led to him winning the Man of the Match award.
Tottenham Hotspur
On 2 February 2015, Alli signed for
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
in the last hours of the mid-season transfer window on a five-and-a-half-year deal for an initial fee of £5 million.
Loan to Milton Keynes Dons
Following his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, Alli was immediately loaned back to MK Dons for the remainder of the 2014–15 season.
[ On 19 April, he was chosen as the Young Player of the Year at the ]Football League Awards
The EFL Awards is an annual awards ceremony commemorating association football players, clubs and associated individuals involved in the three divisions of the English Football League (EFL).
The event was established in 2006 and is usually hel ...
. The season ended on 3 May with Milton Keynes Dons promoted automatically to the Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
as runners-up behind Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
, after a 5–1 home win over relegated Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
.
2015–16 season
On 8 August 2015, Alli made his Tottenham debut against Manchester United in the Premier League as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat away at Old Trafford, playing the last 13 minutes in place of Eric Dier
Eric Jeremy Edgar Dier (born 15 January 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. A versatile defensive player, Dier has been deployed as a defensive midfielder, a centre-b ...
. Two weeks later, he scored his first goal for the club after coming on for Christian Eriksen
Christian Dannemann Eriksen (born 14 February 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team. He is renowned for his vision, technique, passing, and fre ...
in the 1–1 draw against Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
.
On 13 September, Alli made his first start for Tottenham in a 1–0 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. On 2 November, he started and scored the second goal in an eventual 3–1 win over Aston Villa. Six days later he started his first North London Derby
The North London derby is the meeting of the association football clubs Arsenal F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C., both of which are based in North London, England. Fans of both clubs consider the other to be their main rivals, and the derby is co ...
alongside fellow England youngster Dier in central midfield, and was awarded Man of the Match in the 1–1 draw between rivals Arsenal and Tottenham. On 5 December 2015, he scored his third goal for Tottenham in the 2015–16 campaign in a 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
at The Hawthorns
The Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of Championship club West Bromwich Albion since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the cl ...
.
Following an impressive start to his Premier League career scoring five goals and making three assists in his first 18 league matches, he was rewarded with a new long-term contract until 2021 on 12 January. Eleven days later he scored a 25-yard volley in a 3–1 win at Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
; BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
pundit and former Spurs player Garth Crooks
Garth Anthony Crooks, (born 10 March 1958) is an English football pundit and former professional player. He played from 1976 to 1990, for Stoke City, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Charlton Athletic. Throughout h ...
wrote "Well, I've seen some glorious goals scored in my time watching football matches but I doubt whether I will see a goal scored with such individual flair, and by a 19-year-old, as Dele Alli's goal at Selhurst Park – it was sheer class". On 13 April, he was named on the six-man shortlist for 2015–16's PFA Young Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the s ...
.
On 18 April 2016, Alli scored his first brace for Tottenham in a 0–4 away win at Stoke City, reaching ten goals in his debut Premier League season. He was voted the season's PFA Young Player of the Year on 24 April. On 28 April, Alli was banned by the Football Association for three matches, effectively ending his Premier League season, for an off-the-ball incident against West Bromwich Albion in which he punched midfielder Claudio Yacob in the stomach. He later apologised for the incident on Twitter, stating, "Gutted that my season is over. Shouldn't have reacted like I did. Will learn from this and come back stronger."
2016–17 season
Ahead of the season, Alli changed his kit name to Dele, saying that he had "no connection" to his legal surname due to his separation from his mother. His first goal of the season came in a 4–0 win against Stoke City on 10 September 2016. Four days later, he made his UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
debut in a 1–2 loss to AS Monaco
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
. His first Champions League goal came against CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...
at the same stadium on 7 December 2016. Between 18 December 2016 and 21 January 2017, Alli scored eight goals in six league matches, earning the award of Premier League Player of the Month
The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 10 ...
award for January 2017. This included three consecutive braces against Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
and Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
.
On 23 February, Alli received his first red card for a dangerous tackle on Brecht Dejaegere in Tottenham's UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
draw with K.A.A. Gent which saw Spurs eliminated at the Round of 32 stage of the competition. On 20 April 2017, Alli was again named in the PFA Team of the Year, having been included in the League One selection for 2015 and the Premier League selection in 2016. On 23 April, he was named the PFA Young Player of the Year, the day after scoring in Tottenham's 4–2 FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
semi-final loss to rivals Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.
2017–18 season
Alli scored his first goal of the season in the opening game of the 2017–18 season away at Newcastle that finished in a 2–0 win. However, he was criticised for his inconsistency this season, failing to perform as well as the previous season. On 1 April 2018, Alli scored twice in the away fixture against Chelsea, helping Tottenham win 3–1, which was their first win in 28 years at Stamford Bridge.
2018–19 season
On 11 August 2018, Alli scored his first goal of the season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
, scoring the winning goal in the opening league match against Newcastle United.
On 26 September, Alli was named as captain for Tottenham's EFL Cup third round tie with Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
. The tie, played at Stadium MK due to delays in the completion of Tottenham's new stadium, marked Alli's return to the home ground of his boyhood club Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
, and the return to his home town of Milton Keynes for the first time as a Tottenham player. The tie finished 2–2, with Alli scoring both a penalty
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
A p ...
in normal time and the winning penalty in a deciding penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
.
In October 2018, Alli signed a new six-year deal at Tottenham, which would keep him at the club until 2024. He also scored in the 3–1 home win against Chelsea, which was his sixth goal in five games against Chelsea, and the first defeat for Chelsea in the Premier League this season. In January 2019, he was ruled out until March with a hamstring injury.
2019–20 season
Alli missed the start of the season due to a hamstring injury. He returned to the team in the North London Derby on 1 September 2019, coming on as a substitute. He scored his first goal of the season in the match against Watford, drawing 1–1. In November 2019, Mauricio Pochettino was dismissed by the club to be replaced by José Mourinho. Mourinho played Alli as an attacking player just behind Harry Kane
Harry Edward Kane (born 28 July 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the England national team. A prolific goalscorer with strong link play, Kane is regarded as one of ...
, reverting to his earlier position after playing in a deeper midfield role the previous two years. According to Mourinho, "Dele is not a midfield player". The attacking role gave Alli greater freedom to score, and he scored three goals in his first three games under Mourinho, two of which came in the game against Bournemouth.
In February 2020, Alli posted a video on his Snapchat account in which he appeared to mock an Asian man while joking about the COVID-19 outbreak. The video showed Alli wearing a face mask at Heathrow Airport while waiting for his flight to Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
, before the camera moved to show a man of Asian appearance before zooming in on a bottle of antiseptic handwash, seemingly suggesting the Asian man in the terminal could be infected with the virus. The video was captioned: "The virus gunna have to be faster than that to catch me." In June 2020, Alli was found guilty of an "aggravated breach" of the FA rule that includes a reference to race, colour, ethnic origin and/or nationality, and was judged to have used an "unacceptable racist stereotype" by the regulatory commission. Alli was suspended in June 2020 for one match by the Football Association, making him ineligible for Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League game at home against Manchester United on 19 June. He was also fined £50,000 and ordered to undertake an education course.
2020–21 season
In the first half of 2020–21 season, Alli was reportedly out of favour with Mourinho, making few starts in games. Most of his starts in games were in the UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
, and he scored his first goal of the season in the Europa League play-off match against Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...
on 1 October 2020 to cap a 7–2 win for Tottenham. In the Europa last-32 match against Wolfsberg on 24 February 2021, he scored a notable goal with a bicycle kick
In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...
, starting a 4–0 rout with two further assists. He made his first start in six months in the Premier League on 4 March, in the match against Fulham that ended in a 1–0 win when his shot at goal was deflected off a defender for an own-goal. He started seven Premier League games this season.
2021–22 season
On 22 August 2021, Alli scored his first goal of the season, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
. This was Alli's first Premier League goal since March 2020. He continued to struggle to regain his form. Manager Nuno Espírito Santo tried to bring him back into the squad, which proved short-lived as Nuno was replaced by Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later ...
in early November. Dele failed to find a role under the new manager, and became a fringe player in Conte's plan for Tottenham. After starting only eight league games (two under Conte) in the 2021–22 campaign, Alli was made available for transfer by Tottenham in the January 2022 window.
Everton
Alli moved to fellow Premier League side Everton on 31 January 2022 on an initial free transfer, which could rise to £40 million if certain performance benchmarks are met. The first £10 million would be due after 20 appearances for Everton. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, running until the end of the 2023–24 season. Upon signing for the club, Alli cited the opportunity to work under new manager Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
as a major reason for joining Everton. He made his debut on 8 February as a late substitute in a 3–1 loss against Newcastle United. He failed to make an impact at Everton, making 11 appearances and only 1 start in the 2021–22 season, and two further appearances in the 2022–23 season. He did not score nor register an assist in 13 games.
Loan to Beşiktaş
On 25 August 2022, Alli joined Turkish team, Beşiktaş on loan for the remainder of the 2022–23 season with an option to buy for the Turkish club. He scored his first goal in over a year in his second appearance for the club, helping the club win 3–2 against Ankaragücü on 4 September 2022. When Şenol Güneş took over as new head coach on 28 October, he stated that: "Alli is below expectations in terms of efficiency," pointing to his struggles for Beşiktaş.
International career
Alli has made several appearances at U17 and U18 levels for England. On 27 August 2014, Alli was called up to the England U19 squad following an impressive start to the campaign. He made his debut for England U19 in the 1–1 draw against Germany U19. In the match, Alli assisted the opening goal feeding a through ball to Bradley Fewster
Bradley William Fewster (born 27 January 1996) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for Whitby Town.
Fewster started his career with Middlesbrough, and had loan spells with Preston North End, York City and Hartlepo ...
who gave England a 1–0 lead.
In February 2015, it was reported that John Fashanu
John Fashanu (, born 18 September 1962) is an English television presenter and former professional footballer.
In his former career, he was a centre-forward from 1978 until 1995, most notably in an eight-year spell at Wimbledon in which he w ...
would try to convince Alli to play for Nigeria. However, on 1 October of that year, he was included in Roy Hodgson's England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
squad for the final UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...
matches against Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
and Lithuania. He made his debut against the former on 9 October, coming on as a late substitute for Ross Barkley
Ross Barkley (born 5 December 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice.
Barkley began his professional career at Everton in 2010. After loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United he b ...
in a 2–0 win.
On 17 November 2015, Alli made his first start for the England senior team, scoring the opening goal from a long range shot to beat Spurs teammate, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in a 2–0 win against France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
at Wembley Stadium. He was again named in the starting line-up for England's friendly match against world champions Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
on 26 March 2016. Alli was named man of the match by the BBC Sport as England recovered from 0–2 down to win 3–2 at the Berlin Olympiastadion
Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to:
* Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'')
* Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...
.
Alli was selected for the 23-man England squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 7 July, Alli scored the second goal of the game in a 2–0 win over Sweden in the quarter-finals
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
of the competition, as England reached the semi-finals
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
for the first time in 28 years. Alli played for England in the semi-final match against Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, winning a free-kick through which England took the lead, though they eventually lost 2–1 following extra-time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...
.
In October 2019, he was left out of the England squad for forthcoming Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
Player profile
Style of play
Early in his career, Alli was widely considered one of the best young midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
s of his generation, and won PFA Young Player of the Year two years running. He was praised for his all-round skillset and his goalscoring prowess, particularly when playing as a second striker
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
. Alli's manager at the time, Mauricio Pochettino, said in 2017: "In the box, he looks like a striker, and outside the box, he plays like a midfielder." Rafael van der Vaart
Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB.
Van der Vaart began his c ...
said of Alli that he is "fast, fluid and has a great skill set", while Frank Lampard praised Alli's intelligence in his ability "to get into the box without being marked". However, Alli's form faded in 2018, resulting in him losing his place in the England team in 2019.
Alli has been widely accused of diving and has received bookings for simulation.
Reception
In 2018, Alli was considered the world's most expensive midfielder from a transfer value perspective by the CIES
The International Centre for Sports Studies, known mostly by the initials CIES from the French ''Centre International d'Etude du Sport'', is an independent, research and education organization, located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
It had a resea ...
.
Personal life
Alli was born in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, to a Yoruba Nigerian father Kehinde and English mother Denise. Kehinde moved to the United States a week after Alli's birth. Alli was initially brought up by his mother, who suffered from alcohol problems. At the age of nine, he moved to Nigeria with his father, where he spent two years in an international school
An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body an ...
before returning to Milton Keynes to live with his mother. Alli went to Stantonbury Campus
Stantonbury School (formerly known as Stantonbury Campus and Stantonbury International School) is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational secondary school located in north Milton Keynes, England, established in 1974. It is the second largest secon ...
and The Radcliffe School in Wolverton
Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and G ...
.
At the age of 13, he moved into the family home of Alan and Sally Hickford, parents of another young footballer with MK Dons and whom he refers to as his "adoptive parents" although he was never legally adopted by them. In the summer of 2016, Alli elected to stop wearing his surname on his match shirts because he felt no connection with the Alli family name, instead opting for "Dele".[
Alli was a Liverpool fan growing up with Steven Gerrard his childhood idol,] and saw Gerrard and Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
as good role models on how they act as professionals.[ He is also a fan of ]British hip hop
British hip hop, also known as UK hip hop or UK rap, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. Britis ...
music, which led rapper Cadet to release a single referencing the footballer, "Advice
Advice (noun) or advise (verb) may refer to:
* Advice (opinion), an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide to action, conduct
* Advice (constitutional law) a frequently binding instruction issued to a constitutional office-holder
* Advice (p ...
".
On 13 May 2020, Alli was held at knifepoint during a burglary by two men who broke into his house in north London. He was punched and suffered minor facial injuries. The burglars stole jewellery including watches.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''As of match played 9 June 2019. England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Alli goal.''[
]
Honours
Milton Keynes Dons
* Football League One runner-up: 2014–15
Tottenham Hotspur
* EFL Cup runner-up: 2020–21
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
runner-up: 2018–19
England
*UEFA Nations League
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...
third place: 2018–19
Individual
*Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
Young Player of the Year: 2013–14
* Football League Young Player of the Month: August 2014
* Football League One Player of the Month: January 2015
* Football League Young Player of the Year: 2014–15[
*Milton Keynes Dons Player's Player of the Year: 2014–15
*]BBC Goal of the Season
In English football, the Goal of the Season is an annual competition and award given on BBC's '' Match of the Day'', in honour of the most spectacular goal scored that season. It is typically contested between the winners of the preceding ten Go ...
: 2015–16
*PFA Young Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the s ...
: 2015–16,[ 2016–17][
*]Premier League Player of the Month
The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 10 ...
: January 2017
* PFA Team of the Year: 2014–15 League One,[ ]2015–16 Premier League
The 2015–16 Premier League (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th season of the Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992, and the ...
,[ 2016–17 Premier League][
]
References
External links
Profile
at the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alli, Dele
1996 births
Living people
People from Milton Keynes
Footballers from Buckinghamshire
English footballers
England youth international footballers
England under-21 international footballers
England international footballers
Association football midfielders
Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Everton F.C. players
Beşiktaş J.K. footballers
English Football League players
Premier League players
Süper Lig players
UEFA Euro 2016 players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
English expatriate footballers
English expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate footballers in Turkey
Black British sportspeople
English people of Nigerian descent
English people of Yoruba descent
Yoruba sportspeople
English victims of crime