Mauricio Pochettino urges Roy Hodgson caution over Dele Alli

By Shane Callaghan, Reporter | 11 October 2015

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino tells England counterpart Roy Hodgson to "be careful" with how much pressure he puts on 19-year-old midfielder Dele Alli.

Mauricio Pochettino has told manager Roy Hodgson that he must ease highly-rated Tottenham Hotspur ace Dele Alli into the England setup or risk hindering his development.

The 19-year-old midfielder saw his impressive Spurs form rewarded with an international debut by Hodgson, who gave him a couple of minutes in Friday's 2-0 win over Estonia.

Tottenham boss Pochettino was against Alli being called up by the Three Lions this early, and the Argentine reiterates the importance of not expecting too much too soon from the youngster.

"Be careful with the young players that arrive in the Premier League. It is not easy. Again it is not my decision," he is quoted as saying by The Mirror.

"You can see he is a player who is very mature and shows great quality. But always in football you need to take it step by step, game by game.

"He has a great personality and good character."

Alli could be involved again on Monday when the already-qualified England travel to Lithuania for their final Euro 2016 qualifier - a game in which Hodgson is expected to name an experimental first XI.