MY ACCOUNT
Antonio Conte does not expect Dele Alli to come back to haunt his former side Tottenham when they host Everton on Monday, claiming players usually go “down, not up” when they leave him.
Alli’s seven-year spell with Spurs came to an end in January as he left for Goodison Park in what is said to be an initial free transfer.
Frank Lampard’s side will reportedly be obliged to pay £10million for the midfielder after he makes 20 appearances, with subsequent performance-based add-ons that may take the eventual figure as high as £40m.
England international Alli was one of four departures from Spurs last transfer window, with Bryan Gil, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso all sent out on loan.
Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur were brought in as replacements by Conte, whose side next host Everton in the Premier League, but the Italian is not worried that Alli will make Spurs rue their decision.
“I don’t remember a player that when he went away, came back with a great spirit of revenge,” Conte told reporters.
“Honestly, I don’t remember one. During my coaching, I always try to be honest with the players and give all the players the possibility to show me that they deserve to play.
“I don’t remember a player that had their revenge with me. What happens usually is that when players went away they went down, not up.”
Alli enjoyed a swift rise after arriving at Spurs from MK Dons, with former boss Mauricio Pochettino describing the two-time PFA Young Player of the Year as the best 21-year-old in the world in 2018.
But after the dismissal of Pochettino, who Alli reserved special praise for when he left for Everton, the midfielder struggled to make his mark under Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and then Conte.
However, Conte still believes Alli has time to rediscover the form that led him to become a mainstay in the England squad that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
Asked why Alli’s career has been on a downward trajectory, Conte responded: “It is difficult to say something about this, for sure he is still young and his career is in his hands.
“He is very young and he has all the time to take his career again. I really think so. [Alli joining Everton] was a good decision for the player and the club.
“This decision was the best for the player because in the last few years he wasn’t playing regularly and I think it was good for him to go to another environment to challenge himself.
“I can tell you that in the period that we were working together I tried to get the best out of him and he was always involved in the training session.
“But in the end, it was a good decision for him and he deserves big respect for what he did for this club in the time that he played here.”
