Is Dele Alli really the best young player in world football?

Speaking following the 4-1 win over Bournemouth last week Pochettino gave the youngster a glowing ensorsement, saying: "When you compare him, Dele Alli, a 21-year-old, with all the players in the world, I think he is the best in his age. In his form, assists, everything. For me Dele Alli, in his age, is the best - that's it."

It is true that as football fans we often forget about the impact of a player's age and whilst Alli hasn't been at his best this season, he is still just 21, with dips in form natural at that sort of age.

Simply put, Alli's arrival in the Premier League was a breath of fresh air. Here was a player who had come from the lower leagues and worked his way up and he was desperate to prove that he belonged at the top level.

In 2015/16, Alli's first season in the English top flight, he scored 10 goals and laid on nine assists in 33 games from midfield. His goalscoring form improved the following season as he found the net on 18 occasions and once again backed that up with nine assists.

In fact, his tally of 34 Premier League goals before the age of 22 is only bettered by five players, all of which were strikers (Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku), whilst only Ryan Giggs (26), Cesc Fabregas (46) and Wayne Rooney (31) had created more goals than Alli's 25 before reaching the age of 22.

 

11 de março de 2018

- That's all well and good but how does he compare to Europe's top talents? - 

Where Alli ranks among Europe's hot properties is hard to guage due the different positions etc of the players involved, however, if we look at things purely in an attacking sense then Alli's stats stand up with the best.

The former MK Dons man has directly contributed to more goals (59) than any other player under the age of 22 since August 2015, outstripping the likes of Timo Werner (48), Kylian Mbappe (46) and Ousmane Dembele (39).

No player under the age of 22 has assisted more goals than Alli's 25 since his Premier League debut, whilst only Werner (37) has scored more (34) and he is an out-and-out striker.

If we look at this season, despite Alli supposedly struggling, only Mbappe has directly contributed to more goals, whilst only Bordeaux's Malcom has created more chances.

Whilst Alli has come under fire at times this season, the stats would suggest that is simply because his performances in previous years have been so strong that we have come to expect excellence from him at all times.

However, it is worth noting that it is not Alli's effectiveness that opposition fans and managers ofter take issue with, but rather his modus operandi. Alli has gained a reputation for simulation in recent years, whilst he is also considered to be a sly player, not adverse to leaving a foot in or throwing an elbow when the time arises. Though there is an argument that this could partly be down to his education in the lower league as a young flair player and the need to protect himself from the rough and tumble of League One.

 

4 de fevereiro de 2018

Whatever you make of Alli, it is nice to hear a young English player called one of the best in the world.