Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

‘He had to go’; Hugo Lloris backs departure after ‘complicated’ Tottenham spell

Tottenham duo Son Heung-min and Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris has backed the decision by Dele Alli to leave Tottenham this winter in order to start enjoying his football once again.

Alli, 25, made 269 appearances in all competitions for Spurs, scoring 67 goals. He became an England regular while in north London and has to date earned 37 Three Lions caps. But the midfielder’s form has dipped over the past couple of years and he became a peripheral figure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Gareth Southgate has also overlooked the former MK Dons star, with no international outings since 2019. He moved to Everton in the January transfer window, in a deal worth up to £40m.

The hope is that Alli will now be able to recapture the form that made him such a hot property a few years go. Lloris felt it was inevitable that his former colleague would leave the club.

And the Frenchman hopes that he will now start to show the footballing world exactly what he is capable of.

“I really like Dele. We had some great times at Spurs, but also, it’s important that players find new challenges,” he told The Times. “Sometimes, the new challenge is not at the same place. Dele has to go to another place, but the most important thing is I want to see Dele with a smile.”

Tough situation led to Alli departure

Lloris has himself been linked with a move away from Spurs in recent years. However, the veteran shot-stopper penned a fresh two-and-a-half-year contract last month.

He has seen many players and managers come and go at the club. And the man with 136 France caps believes what Alli suffered is part of the natural cycle of being a footballer.

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“I wanted Dele to enjoy football, and I know it was a bit complicated the last two years for him. A lot of inconsistency in terms of games played, but that’s part of the career,” he added.

“It’s never easier for anyone, even the best players in the world have some up and downs.”

Alli will need to impress during the second half of the campaign to stand any chance of forcing his way into the England World Cup side.

Dele Alli Everton v Brentford February 2021

Southgate’s men will be looking to go one better than the semi-final they reached at the 2018 World Cup. The Toffees new recruit played in that match with Croatia but is now way down the pecking order.

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