Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has been offered advice on how to turn around his form after a poor start to the 2019/20 Premier League campaign.
Alli has dealt with injury issues in the last two seasons which have hampered his production in the Premier League after three dominant campaigns to start off his career at Spurs. He moved from Milton Keynes Dons to Tottenham during the 2014/15 season but was loaned back for the rest of the campaign before making the switch permanent in the summer of 2015.
The attacking midfielder made an instant impression as he scored ten goals and assisted nine during the 2015/16 season before following that up with stat lines of 18 goals and seven assists (2016/17) and nine goals and ten assists (2017/18).
But the 23-year-old only played 25 league games last season, scoring just five goals and assisting three. This time around he's yet to start a league match for Mauricio Pochettino's men due to injuries and a lack of form.
One man who knows a thing or two about enjoying a breakthrough early in his career is Micah Richards, who went through struggles after playing for England as a teenager before eventually returning to form and starting 23 league games when Man City won the Premier League during the 2011/12 season.
Richards, who was speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's The Monday Night Club, has explained what Alli will need to show to return back to the top after enduring some struggles of late.
"I was a player who lost his way as well. I burst on the scene at 17 at Man City and was playing for England at 18," Richards told the BBC. "By 20 or 21 I was nowhere near the England squad. I was only playing for Man City at the time because we were an average side.
"The Man City fans stuck by me and then I went on and won the Premier League. Everyone has got their own journey. It's now about seeing the mental toughness of Dele Alli and how good of a player he really is."
Richards added: "You have got to be mentally strong. At the time I had good managers and support behind me.
"Even when I was playing bad, the managers always believed in my ability. I always tried to keep my attitude good so they didn't have a reason to drop me.
"Eventually we started getting better players. The focus was on me because I played for England at such a young age but once we had investment, the pressure came off me and I was allowed to play my normal game and it got much better."
