Jose Mourinho tells Dele Alli to prove he has Spurs future against Leyton Orient after Southampton snub
JOSE MOURINHO wants Dele Alli to show he can be part of Tottenham’s future after giving a kick up the backside by snubbing him for a second game running.
Alli was ordered in for extra training in North London yesterday morning after Mourinho left him out of his matchday squad completely for the 5-2 thrashing of Southampton.
SunSport understands the Spurs boss still believes the England ace DOES have an important part to play at the club – but the manager is wanting more from the 24-year-old in training and in games.
So the World Cup star will be asked to go out and prove his worth against League Two Leyton Orient in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Asked directly if he wanted to keep Alli, Mourinho said: “I want a balanced squad. That’s what I want.”
Challenged on whether the midfielder has a place in such a balanced squad, the boss replied: “Yes.
Sign up to play Dream Team 20/21 now
- It's completely free to play
- Play the traditional Season game as well as Draft
- There's a hefty jackpot up for grabs across 2020/21
“Does he need to be sacrificed? No. But a squad is a puzzle.”
It is believed Alli’s advisors have been looking to see if other options are open to him before the transfer window shuts, amid claims they have been in discussions with Paris Saint-Germain.
Spurs have had no contact with the French club over any possible deal, and Mourinho was far from committed when asked whether he wanted to loan out the star.
But privately it is thought the message given to Alli by the manager is one of there being a place for him at Spurs so long as he finds a way back to his best form.
Mourinho added: “I am not responsible for the market, I don’t know how to answer to you your question in relation to that.
“The only thing I can say is I left eight players behind, they stayed training because they are a big group and Dele is amongst these players.
“You could see our team, I cannot start with all of them and I cannot have a bench without defenders or the midfielders.
“The way the squad is is a puzzle, the bench is also a little puzzle. To have on the bench Toby and Serge, and Moussa and Gio, Lamella and Bergwijn, I cannot have on the bench four wingers or three wingers and a number ten and then no defenders.
“Everything is a puzzle so, in these two matches Dele stayed out, probably Tuesday he will play and others will stay out.”
Mourinho also defended his decision to haul off Tanguy Ndombele seconds after he had helped create the equaliser on the stroke of half-time which provided the platform for Tottenham’s win over Saints.
Most read in Football
He said: “We all know his condition is not yet top condition that is why we are playing him basically coming from the bench.
“Gio Celso was very tired, clearly he wouldn’t be able to play 90 minutes, we decided to play Tanguy but we had the clear thought that Gio would come into the game in the second half.
“The yellow card left Tanguy in a position the same way Romeu was in a position and could possibly get a second yellow card in the second half. I didn’t want to be in a position like that.”