Dele Alli

This article is about the footballer. For the gridiron football player, see Bamidele Ali.
Dele Alli

Alli playing for Milton Keynes Dons in 2015
Personal information
Full name Bamidele Jermaine Alli[1]
Date of birth (1996-04-11) 11 April 1996[1]
Place of birth Milton Keynes, England
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Tottenham Hotspur
Number 20
Youth career
0000–2007 City Colts[3]
2007–2011 Milton Keynes Dons
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2015 Milton Keynes Dons 62 (18)
2015– Tottenham Hotspur 41 (13)
2015 → Milton Keynes Dons (loan) 12 (4)
National team‡
2012–2013 England U17 9 (0)
2014 England U18 2 (0)
2014–2015 England U19 4 (0)
2015– England U21 2 (0)
2015– England 15 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:00, 15 October 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:06, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

Bamidele Jermaine "Dele" Alli (born 11 April 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team.

Born and raised in Milton Keynes, he joined the youth system at Milton Keynes Dons aged 11 and broke into the first team five years later, during the 2012–13 season. Over the next two-and-a-half years he made 88 official appearances for the team, scoring 24 goals. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2015 for an initial fee of £5 million, being loaned back to the Dons for the remainder of the season. In his first full campaign at White Hart Lane, Alli was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year. In January 2016 he was ranked 8th in Gazzetta dello Sport best 50 footballers U20 list and in October of the same year he was ranked as the best U21 talent in world football by FourFourTwo.[4][5]

Alli played for the England U17, U18 and U19 teams. He made his senior debut in 2015 and was selected for UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

Milton Keynes Dons

Early career

Alli joined the youth system at Milton Keynes Dons when he was 11 years old.[3] He made his debut for the first team as a sixteen-year-old on 2 November 2012, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Jay O'Shea in a 0–0 draw with Southern Football League club Cambridge City in the FA Cup first round at Milton Road.[6] His first touch in professional football was a back-heeled pass.[3] His first goal came in the replay against Cambridge eleven days later, where he scored in a 6–1 win at Stadium mk on his first start.[7] He made his league debut in the 2–3 defeat to Coventry City at home on 29 December, where he played 71 minutes before being replaced by Zeli Ismail.[8] His only other league appearance in the 2012–13 Football League One season, came as a second-half substitute for Patrick Bamford in the last game of the season, a 2–0 win over Stevenage at Broadhall Way.[9]

2013–14 season

The 2013–14 season saw Alli break into the MK Dons first team on a regular basis. He started the Dons' first league game of the season, a 0–0 draw away at Shrewsbury Town.[10] In his first Football League Trophy appearance, Alli scored to help MK Dons beat Northampton Town 2–0 and thus progress to the second round of the tournament.[11] On 28 September, Alli scored his first professional league goal in the 4–1 thrashing of Stevenage.[12] After being in and out of the first team picture in late 2013 due to injury setbacks, Alli would go on and establish himself as a first-choice player in 2014. He scored the opening goal in the 3–2 win over Shrewsbury Town at Stadium mk on 11 January, with a header from Stephen Gleeson's pinpoint pass.[13] On 11 March, against Notts County at Meadow Lane, aged 17 years and 11 months old, Alli scored a hat-trick to guide the 'Dons to a 3–1 victory.[14] His next and final goal of the 2013–14 season, came on 5 April against Coventry City at the Sixfields Stadium; Alli struck a thunderous volley from 25 yards out as MK Dons defeated Coventry, 2–1.[15] He made 37 appearances in all competitions during the 2013–14 season, scoring 7 times, with 33 appearances and 6 goals in the league.

2014–15 season

Alli playing for Milton Keynes Dons in 2015

With the departure of Gleeson to Birmingham City[16] in June 2014, Alli became the first-choice central midfield partner to Darren Potter. He started the season brightly, playing the first league game of the season as the Dons overcame a 2–0 deficit to defeat Gillingham, 4–2.[17] He then helped the team to a 3–1 win over arch-enemies, AFC Wimbledon, in the League Cup first round.[18] His first goal of the 2014–15 season came in the first away league game, a 3–2 defeat to Peterborough United, where he scored a tap-in from Will Grigg's deflected shot.[19]

On 26 August, Alli played the full 90 minutes in the League Cup second round as MK Dons recorded a historic 4–0 win over Manchester United.[20] It was reported that numerous scouts from top clubs across Europe attended the game to watch him play, including representatives from Bayern Munich and Liverpool.[3][21] In the game after the 4–0 League Cup win over Manchester United, Alli continued his rich vein of form with a goal curled in from the edge of the box in a 2–0 win over Crawley Town.[22] After the international break, Alli played 77 minutes in the 5–3 win against Barnsley, assisting the Dons second goal and scoring their third goal himself with a chip over the Barnsley goalkeeper.[23]

On 18 September, Alli extended his contract with MK Dons until June 2017.[24] Two days later, in a game against Crewe Alexandra, he scored a hat-trick and achieved one assist in what turned out to be a 6–1 victory for the Dons. It was the second hat-trick of his career and the first he achieved at home, which also led to him winning the Man of the Match award.[25]

Tottenham Hotspur

Alli playing for Tottenham in 2016

On 2 February 2015, Alli signed for Tottenham Hotspur in the last hours of the mid-season transfer window on a five-and-a-half-year deal for an initial fee of £5 million.

Milton Keynes Dons (loan)

Following his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, Alli was immediately loaned back to Milton Keynes Dons for the remainder of the 2014–15 season.[26] On 19 April, he was chosen as the Young Player of the Year at the Football League Awards.[27] The season ended on 3 May with Milton Keynes Dons promoted automatically to the Championship as runners-up behind Bristol City, after a 5–1 home win over relegated Yeovil Town.[28]

2015–16 season

On 8 August 2015, Alli made his Tottenham debut against Manchester United in the Premier League as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat away at Old Trafford, playing the last 13 minutes in place of Eric Dier.[29] Two weeks later, he scored his first goal for the club after coming on for Christian Eriksen in the 1–1 draw against Leicester City.[30]

On 13 September, Alli made his first start for Tottenham in a 1–0 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.[31] On 2 November, he started and scored the second goal in an eventual 3–1 win over Aston Villa.[32] Six days later he started his first North London Derby alongside fellow England youngster Dier in central midfield, and was awarded Man of the Match in the 1–1 draw between rivals Arsenal and Tottenham.[33] On 5 December 2015, he scored his third goal for Tottenham in the 2015–16 campaign in a 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.[34]

Following an impressive start to his Premier League career scoring five goals and making three assists in his first 18 league matches, he was rewarded with a new long-term contract until 2021 on 12 January.[35] Eleven days later he scored a 25-yard volley in a 3–1 win at Crystal Palace; BBC Sport pundit and former Spurs player Garth Crooks wrote "Well, I've seen some glorious goals scored in my time watching football matches but I doubt whether I will see a goal scored with such individual flair, and by a 19-year-old, as Dele Alli's goal at Selhurst Park - it was sheer class".[36] On 13 April, he was named on the six-man shortlist for 2015–16's PFA Young Player of the Year.[37]

On 18 April 2016, he scored his first brace for Tottenham in a 0–4 away win at Stoke City,[38] reaching ten goals in his debut Premier League season.[39] He was voted the season's PFA Young Player of the Year.[40] On 28 April, Alli was banned by the Football Association for three matches, effectively ending his Premier League season, for an off-the-ball incident against West Brom in which he punched midfielder Claudio Yacob in the stomach. He later apologised for the incident on Twitter, stating, "Gutted that my season is over. Shouldn't have reacted like I did. Will learn from this and come back stronger."[41]

2016–17 season

Ahead of the season, Alli changed his shirt name to his given name, saying that he had "no connection" to his legal surname due to his separation from his mother.[42] His first goal of the season came in a 4-0 win against Stoke on 10 September 2016.[43] Alli followed this up with a goal against Manchester City in a 2-0 win on 2 October 2016,[44] and equalized late for a 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion on 15 October 2016.[45]

International career

Alli playing for England in 2015

Alli has made several appearances at U17 and U18 levels for England.[46] On 27 August 2014, Alli was called up to the England U19 squad following an impressive start to the campaign.[47] He made his debut for England U19 in the 1–1 draw against Germany U19. In the game, Alli assisted the opening goal feeding a through ball to Bradley Fewster who gave England a 1–0 lead.[48]

In February 2015, it was reported that John Fashanu would try to convince Alli to play for Nigeria.[49] However, on 1 October of that year, he was included in Roy Hodgson's England squad for the final UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Estonia and Lithuania.[50] He made his debut against the former on 9 October, coming on as a late substitute for Ross Barkley in a 2–0 win.[51]

On 17 November 2015, Alli made his first start for the England senior team, scoring the opening goal from a long range shot to beat Spurs teammate, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in a 2–0 win against France at Wembley Stadium.[52] He was again named in the starting line-up for England's friendly match against world champions Germany on 26 March 2016. Alli was named man of the match by the BBC as England recovered from 0–2 down to win 3–2 at the Berlin Olympiastadion.[53]

Personal life

Alli was born and raised in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, to a Yoruba Nigerian father Kenny[54] and English mother Denise.[55] Kenny moved to the United States a week after Dele's birth.[56] Dele went to Stantonbury Campus[57] and The Radcliffe School in Wolverton.[58]

Alli was initially brought up by his English mother, Denise, who suffered from alcohol problems.[56] At the age of 13, he moved into the family home of Alan and Sally Hickford, parents of another young footballer with MK Dons and whom he refers to as his "adoptive parents" although he was never legally adopted by them.[56][59] In the summer of 2016, Alli elected to stop wearing the name "Alli" on his match shirts because he felt no connection with the Alli family name.[42]

Alli is a close friend of Tottenham and England team mate Eric Dier, with their relationship being described as a "bromance".[60][61]

Alli was a Liverpool fan growing up, with Steven Gerrard, Jason Puncheon and Yaya Touré being his childhood idols.[3][57][62][63][64]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 15 October 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Milton Keynes Dons 2011–12[65] League One 0000000000
2012–13[66] League One 2051000071
2013–14[67] League One 33610201[lower-alpha 1]1377
2014–15[68] League One 39161040004416
Total 74227160118824
Tottenham Hotspur 2015–16[69] Premier League 331030109[lower-alpha 2]04610
2016–17[70] Premier League 8300002[lower-alpha 3]0103
Total 411330101105613
Career total 115351017012114437
  1. ↑ Appearance in Football League Trophy
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 11 October 2016[71]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
England 201541
2016111
Total152

International goals

As of match played 11 October 2016. England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Alli goal.[71]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref
1 17 November 2015Wembley Stadium, London, England4 France1–02–0Friendly[72]
2 8 October 2016Wembley Stadium, London, England14 Malta2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification[73]

Honours

Milton Keynes Dons

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Dele Alli". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Dele Alli". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Osborne, Chris (19 September 2014). "MK Dons' Dele Alli has the makings of next Steven Gerrard". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "The 50 greatest youngsters in world football". Gazzetta world. 27 January 2016.
  5. ↑ http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/fourfourtwos-59-best-under-21-wonderkids-world-10-1?page=0%2C3
  6. ↑ Osborne, Chris (2 November 2012). "Cambridge City 0–0 MK Dons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "MK Dons 6–1 Cambridge City". BBC Sport. 13 November 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "MK Dons 2 – 3 Coventry City". BBC Sport. 29 December 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Stevenage F.C. 0 – 2 MK Dons". BBC Sport. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Shrewsbury Town 0 – 0 MK Dons". BBC Sport. 3 August 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "MK Dons 2 – 0 Northampton Town". MK Web. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "MK Dons 4 – 1 Stevenage F.C.". BBC Sport. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  13. ↑ "MK Dons 3 – 2 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 11 January 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Notts County 1 – 3 MK Dons". BBC Sport. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "Coventry City 1 – 2 MK Dons". BBC Sport. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "BBC Sport – Stephen Gleeson: Birmingham City sign MK Dons midfielder". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  17. ↑ "BBC Sport – Milton Keynes Dons 4–2 Gillingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  18. ↑ Osborne, Chris (13 August 2014). "BBC Sport – Milton Keynes Dons 3–1 AFC Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "BBC Sport – Peterborough United 3–2 MK Dons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Osborne, Chris. "BBC Sport – Milton Keynes Dons 4–0 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  21. ↑ "MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman relishing Capital One Cup tie with Manchester United". The Daily Telegraph. London. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  22. ↑ "BBC Sport – Milton Keynes Dons 2–0 Crawley Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  23. ↑ "BBC Sport – Barnsley 3–5 Milton Keynes Dons". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  24. ↑ "Dele Alli: MK Dons midfielder prospect extends contract". BBC Sport. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  25. ↑ "Match report: MK Dons 6 Crewe Alexandra 1 – Dele Alli inspired Dons dismantle Alex". MK News. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  26. ↑ "Dele Alli: Tottenham sign £5m MK Dons midfielder & loan him back". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  27. 1 2 "Kevin Phillips: Ex-England striker wins Football League award". BBC Sport. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  28. 1 2 "MK Dons 5–1 Yeovil". BBC Sport. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  29. ↑ "Kyler Walker's own goal gives Manchester United the win in season opener". BBC Sport. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  30. ↑ Doyle, Paul (22 August 2015). "Leicester City 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League match report". The Guardian. London.
  31. ↑ "Dele looking forward". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 15 September 2015.
  32. ↑ Fifield, Dominic (2 November 2015). "Tottenham rapidly expose size of Rémi Garde's task at Aston Villa". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  33. ↑ Higginson, Marc (8 November 2015). "Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  34. ↑ Winton, Richard (5 December 2015). "West Brom 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  35. ↑ "Dele Alli signs new Tottenham contract until 2021". ESPN FC. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  36. ↑ Crooks, Garth (24 January 2016). "Garth Crooks' team of the week: Alli, Firmino, Payet". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "PFA Young Player of the Year: Tottenham duo Dele Alli and Harry Kane lead the nominations". Daily Mirror. London. 13 April 2016.
  38. ↑ "Harry Kane, Dele Alli help Tottenham beat Stoke, close gap behind Leicester". ESPN FC. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  39. ↑ "Stoke City vs Tottenham live score and goal updates from the Britannia Stadium". Daily Record. Glasgow. 18 April 2016.
  40. 1 2 "Riyad Mahrez: Leicester City forward named PFA Player of the Year". BBC Sport. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  41. ↑ "Dele Alli banned: Tottenham Hotspur midfielder given three-game ban but will be back for Euro 2016". Independent. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  42. 1 2 "Dele Alli reveals personal reason for shirt name change". Sky Sports. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  43. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37263919
  44. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37465241
  45. ↑ http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37594220
  46. ↑ "European call for MK Dons and England U17 star Dele Alli". MK Web. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  47. ↑ "Three U17 Euro winners make step up to England U19s". The Football Association. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  48. ↑ "Germany 1–1 England: Under-19 match international match report". The Football Association. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  49. ↑ "MK Dons loanee Dele Alli set to be tempted away from England national side by former Wimbledon player". MK Web. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  50. ↑ "Daniel Sturridge left out of England squad for Euro 2016 qualifiers". BBC Sport. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  51. ↑ "England 2 - 0 Estonia". englandstats. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  52. ↑ "Dele Alli keeping feet on ground despite heroics for England against France". The Guardian. London. 18 November 2015.
  53. ↑ "Germany 2-3 England". BBC Sport. 26 March 2016.
  54. ↑ "Dele Alli may become Yoruba king – Fashanu". Eagle News. May 2, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  55. ↑ "I gave Dele Alli away at 13 to save him from gangs and allow him to follow his football dream".
  56. 1 2 3 White, Jim (4 March 2016). "The Dele Alli story: How a tough upbringing inspired the rise of a Premier League superstar". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  57. 1 2 "Liverpool and Bayern Munich target Dele Alli dances to his own tune at MK Dons". The Daily Telegraph. London. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  58. ↑ Harris, Nick; Barlow, Matt (11 November 2015). "England youngster Dele Alli is the modern-day all-action footballer after arriving at MK Dons as a 'scrawny kid' with array of tricks". Daily Mail. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  59. ↑ Flanagan, Aaron (10 January 2016). "Dele Alli's biological mother tells emotional story of Spurs star's childhood".
  60. ↑ Hay, Anthony (8 April 2016). "Tottenham stars Dele Alli and Eric Dier have hit it off both on and off the pitch - they are the Premier League's blossoming bromance". Mail Online. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  61. ↑ Bristow, Thomas (6 October 2016). "Dele Alli and Eric Dier's bromance reaches record new heights while playing the water bottle challenge". Mirror. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  62. ↑ "Deli Alli hopes to emulate Gerrard – England – The FA". The Football Association. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  63. ↑ "Dele Alli: Playing Against Idol Jason Puncheon 'Will Be Weird'". 90min. 19 September 2015.
  64. ↑ "Dele Alli once said he was a cross between Steven Gerrard and Yaya Toure... now the teenager is living up to the promise along with Spurs team-mate Eric Dier as England's midfield duo". Daily Mail. 18 November 2015.
  65. ↑ "Games played by Dele Alli in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  66. ↑ "Games played by Dele Alli in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  67. ↑ "Games played by Dele Alli in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  68. ↑ "Games played by Dele Alli in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  69. ↑ "Games played by Dele Alli in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  70. ↑ "Games played by Dele Alli in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  71. 1 2 "Alli, Dele". National Football Teams. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  72. ↑ Johnston, Neil (17 November 2015). "England 2–0 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  73. ↑ McNulty, Phil (8 October 2016). "England 2–0 Malta". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  74. ↑ "Latest Sky Bet League 1 News". Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  75. ↑ "England U19s and MK Dons youngster Dele Alli lands League One prize". The Football Association.
  76. ↑ "League One Team of the Year: Five Bristol City players selected". BBC Sport. 26 April 2015.
  77. ↑ "PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 22 April 2016.

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