Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho has lifted the lid on why he opted to hand midfielder Dele Alli his first Premier League start since the opening day of the season against Fulham this evening.
After what has proven to be a frustrating season for the England international in north London, the attacking-midfielder was restored to the starting line-up for Spurs' short trip across the capital to take on the relegation-threatened Cottagers, as Mourinho opted to make three changes to the side that made light work of Burnley on Sunday.
Alli replaced Brazilian Lucas Moura in the attacking-midfield role, meaning he joined Gareth Bale, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane in making up the front four.
The England international has found opportunities increasingly hard to come by this season, so much so that he looked destined to join French outfit Paris Saint-Germain during the January transfer window.
Alli forced his way back into Mourinho's plans once and for all with a brilliant display in last Wednesday evening's 4-0 win over Wolfsberger AS in the UEFA Europa League. The attacking midfielder netted a stunning overhead-kick before claiming assists for Carlos Vinicius and Bale to get in on the act.
Despite his heroics against the Austrian minnows, Alli was not included in the starting line-up against Burnley on Sunday, being forced to settle for a place on the bench.
However, with him having now fully recovered from his recent injury troubles, Mourinho has seen enough to hand him a start on the banks of the Thames this evening.
The Spurs chief told BT Sport: "He's playing well and he's working even better since he came back to normal work with the team, he's working hard, playing minutes and so many matches we have now, we need to do some rotation.]
"For Dele it's more than rotation, it's the feeling of working hard to have opportunities and no pressure on him, the pressure's on the team, not about Dele as an individual."
With Alli now back in the team, alongside Bale, who has got himself back into Mourinho's good books in recent weeks, he will be hoping to kick-on and try and help the club make a late charge for a top-four finish.
Alli's start against Fulham this evening has seen him win just his ninth start of the season in all competitions. In all, he has featured 18 times for Spurs this season, excluding tonight, chipping in with three goals.
