Dele Alli: The England international showing shades of his old self in Tottenham draw with Watford

Amongst the disappointment of more dropped points, Tottenham fans may have noticed a flick switched for one of their stars of previous seasons.

In the second half of Tottenham’s draw with Watford on Saturday, Dele Alli arrived in the box to make the most of a Watford mix-up and level proceedings.

It was Dele Alli’s first Premier League goal since netting away at now Championship side Fulham in January 2019, a statistic which reflects the 23-year-olds recent struggles.

Ahead of the fixture, Alli was one of the subjects in Pochettino’s pre-match press conference with the Argentine convinced the former MK Dons youngster could rediscover his best.

“There’s nothing wrong. You need to understand that football is about form, about some not so good periods. Dele only needs time to recover his best performance. We’re going to help him, provide the tools and platform for him to recover.

“There’s no doubt he’s going to recovery. He’s in a tough period but we need him, he’s a very important player for us. In time, we’re going to recover the best Dele Alli.”

Alli has always been a favourite of Pochettino’s since his breakout season in 2015/16. A constant danger for opposition defences off the ball as well as on it, Dele had formed a formidable partnership with England captain Harry Kane during his early years in north London.

Injuries and a general lull around most of Tottenham’s performances have now seen Dele fade somewhat from a player whose performance led to him being awarded PFA Young Player of the Year in both 2015/16 and 2016/17.

Recently dropped by Gareth Southgate and England, Alli’s international career is in threat if an improvement in performances is not seen at club level.

The showing against Watford however displayed a character determined to recover this form.

The bite and tenacity that made Alli such a likeable player to Tottenham fans, and the contrary most of the time for the opposition, appeared once again as Spurs fought for all three points.

Embed from Getty Images

His visible distraught by the failure to secure a victory exhibited the emotions of a player effected by their team’s recent struggles and perhaps their own to reverse the bleak narrative currently cast over the Lilywhites.

Alli was the shining light in a otherwise ominous Spurs display and with a busy set of fixtures soon to arrive over the festive period, it is the ideal time for the Englishman to become an integral part of the Tottenham team once again.

So often a man for the big occasion with goals away at Arsenal and Chelsea springing to mind, there is no better time than now for Alli to step up as a leader and inspire performances from his struggling team.

Tottenham’s next fixture is at home to Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night in a vital Champions League clash before a visit to Anfield awaits as Pochettino looks to reinvigorate his Tottenham team once again with Alli an important part of any potential turnaround.