Tottenham Hotspur

Mauricio Pochettino: 'Dele Alli returning to best form'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 01 January 2018

Pochettino: 'Dele returning to best form'

Mauricio Pochettino insists that some now expect too much from Dele Alli, who he believes is returning to his peak form in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that midfielder Dele Alli has started to show signs of his best form in recent games.

The England international had been accused of under-performing for the Lilywhites during the first half of the 2017-18 Premier League campaign, playing a direct part in just six goals in his first 17 outings.

Alli has since set up three and scored another in festive wins over Burnley and Southampton, however, leading Pochettino to believe that the back-to-back PFA Young Player of the Year is slowly returning to peak form.

"Dele has been good in the last few games, he's started to improve," he told reporters. "And we've started to recognise the player again who has achieved so much in the last two seasons.

"For me there's no doubt about his quality and potential. But because he's young, he needs to breathe sometimes, take some time, then again perform in the same way.

"From day one when he started to play here at Tottenham and achieve, not one other young player of his age [has achieved as much]. Not Cristiano Ronaldo, not Frank Lampard, not Wayne Rooney, massive players, great players - he has achieved more than all those big names.

"The problem is the expectation. We expect from him in every touch, every action, unbelievable things. And sometimes that's not possible."

Alli is expected to start Tottenham's next league match, which is against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday evening.