This summer has been one of uncertainty for Dele Alli. Out of contract with Everton and recovering from a long-term thigh injury, the 28-year-old midfielder is at a crossroads. When Everton kicked off the new Premier League season last Saturday, Dele’s name was conspicuous in its absence. Until a deal is signed, either at Everton or elsewhere, he will not be able to play any kind of competitive minutes — even at under-21 level.
There has, at least, been some form of financial security for Dele this summer. Although his contract expired at the end of June, he was still paid — as is standard procedure — until the end of July. But the need for a resolution one way or another is more pressing now.
In many ways, Dele is still being treated like a contracted Everton player. He returned with the rest of the squad for pre-season last month and has done his rehabilitation work as usual with medical staff. He was part of the group that went away on tour to Ireland in mid-July and has slowly started his reintegration into training sessions with the squad.
Yet the summer started with hurdles in his way as he sought a new deal. Finances are tight at Everton and the terms of his 2022 move meant a significant sum would have been payable to Tottenham Hotspur had he signed an extension.
Without an agreement between the two teams, Everton would not have had the financial capacity to bring him back. There was the considerable matter of him proving his fitness for long enough to earn a new deal.
One by one, those hurdles are being overcome. Everton and Spurs agreed to restructure their agreement, waiving the initial lump sum should he re-sign at Goodison. The new structure is based on performance factors and features a sell-on clause.
That paved the way for fresh discussions between Dele’s representatives and Everton. With all parties keen to reach an agreement, an initial one-year deal is likely should he prove his fitness in the coming weeks. Finding something that worked for the player and the club was never going to be easy, particularly given Everton’s financial considerations, but has been aided by Dele’s desire to stay and prove himself at Goodison.
The next month, however, feels pivotal. He has stepped up his rehabilitation in recent weeks, to the point where he is taking part in sessions with Sean Dyche’s first-team squad. This is the best run of training he has put together since his initial injury problems.
A return to action, most likely after the upcoming international break in early September, will be a chance to show he can play a role this season — but until his contractual status is resolved, those opportunities will likely come in behind-closed-doors games.
Dele is popular with the Everton squad, who have seen the work he is putting in to get back to full fitness. He impressed them with his desire to do extra evening sessions in Ireland and was seen spending time with vice-captain James Tarkowski during an afternoon off during the tour.
“It’s good to see this side of him,” winger Jack Harrison told The Athletic during that trip. “He’s been unfortunate with injuries and that can alter your mindset. Players can end up thinking about retiring but he wants to keep going.
“At the start of the week, we were in the gym at 9pm doing extras. He said he was going to the gym and I went with him. Seeing how he is like that, doing extras — it could help just a small percentage but he’s willing to work to get back on the pitch and show everyone what he can do.”
Should Dele stay fit and a deal be agreed, both sides would be putting their trust in each other. He has not played for Everton since August 2022, or competitively at all since he was substituted at half-time for loan club Besiktas in a 0-0 draw against Antalyaspor in February 2023. He has made just 13 appearances for Everton, and in the summer of 2023, he opened up on his mental health struggles and said he was sexually abused as a child.
After a difficult journey and so many well-documented setbacks, Dyche and the club would be helping him through the pivotal next chapter.
It is a big responsibility but, crucially, the relationship between the pair is positive. Dyche has been a supportive presence during the rehabilitation, checking in regularly on his progress.
There is a feeling that the former England star is well suited to the role behind the striker in his usual 4-4-1-1 system, provided he can shake off his injury problems. Dele has watched Dyche’s methods from the sidelines and his words have been used during sessions to help explain what the manager means by ‘direct play’.
“I had a chat with Dele,” Dyche said in November. “He’s a great fella and has come through a lot. He said: ‘When you talk about direct play, they (the squad) think it means kicking it forward but I know you don’t. Mauricio Pochettino used to talk about direct passing football — turn and get it forward’.
“He got it and I told the players that story. I wanted them to understand that Dele is in a really good place watching our games and is thinking about it.”
The hope is that Dyche can help revive a career that was once so promising. At his pomp, the attacking midfielder looked to have the world at his feet. He scored 67 times and registered 58 assists in 269 games for Spurs, amassing 37 England caps in the process. There was regular talk of a move to Real Madrid.
Plenty of water has passed under the bridge but Dyche’s side needs more guile. Normally, a player with Dele’s quality would almost certainly be out of Everton’s reach in their financial predicament, but this is a unique situation. He needs them and they could do with him, provided he stays fit and can rekindle some of the old magic.
There are no givens here. How can there be after the last few years? But there is at least a chance of a positive conclusion to Dele’s story and nobody would begrudge him that.
“If he ends up here, that would be brilliant for the club,” Harrison said. “Everyone knows what he’s capable of.
“He’s played for England, been a top player in the past, and to see that side of him again would make everyone happy.”
Additional reporting: Jack Pitt-Brooke
(Top photo: Dele at Goodison Park last August; Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)
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Patrick Boyland has been The Athletic's Everton correspondent since 2019. Prior to joining the company, he worked for ESPN, Mail Online and press agency Sportsbeat, where he covered numerous major sporting events.
Boyland's views on Everton have been sought out by local and national media, while he is also a regular on a number of podcasts focusing on the club.
Follow him on Twitter: @Paddy_Boyland
