Alex Iwobi believes Dele Alli's lack of application in training was the reason he was incapable of being "trusted" by former Everton manager Frank Lampard as the club battled for Premier League survival last season.
Dele ended his eight-year stay at Tottenham Hotspur when he joined Everton on the final day of the transfer window in January 2022. The Blues negotiated an initial free transfer that would be backloaded with add-ons should the England international rediscover his form on Merseyside.
Of those clauses, one would see the Blues made to pay £10m if Dele made 20 appearances for the club. However, after making just 13 Premier League outings under Lampard, in August 2022, the 27-year-old was shipped out to Turkish outfit Besiktas on a season-long loan.
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And speaking on the YouTube podcast Filthy Fellas, Iwobi, who played alongside Dele before his temporary switch to Turkey, provided insight as to why his team-mate was unable to win over Lampard as Everton fought to retain their ever-present Premier League status.
“With him, he will say it himself, he isn’t a training player," said Iwobi. "Unless it’s a match in training and then you see Dele perform. When it comes to training matches, he is a joke. When it comes to drills – he tries, but because he’s slow with it.
"When it comes to games, he will score and assist or something. It was hard for him to play. If you’re not just doing it in training, and at the time, the manager needed reliable players. He couldn’t really put his trust in him. We all know Dele could have performed.”
Dele made 11 appearances last season since arriving from Spurs but having found himself behind the likes of Iwobi, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Andre Gomes in the midfield pecking order, his first start did not come until the Blues were safe.
In the Turkish Super Lig, things haven't worked out much better for Dele either. His spell at Besiktas was cut short earlier this year due to injury, just weeks after a number of public tirades from the club's manager Senol Gunes.
Back on Merseyside, however, Sean Dyche was asked about Dele's chances of resurrecting his career at Goodison Park, with the new Everton boss admitting the player needed to "do the right things" if he was to make a success of himself in the Premier League, or elsewhere, once again.
"I’ve heard all the noise, I’ve heard all the opinions and I’m pretty sure you’re aware that I like to make my own. But he needs to get fit. I’ve met him but I haven’t seen him train, I haven’t seen him play for Everton, I haven’t seen him train with us every day," said Dyche back in April. “Before we worry about all of that it’s important that he gets himself properly fit and – if he needs an op or doesn’t – make sure his fitness is good and make sure he’s well and ready to go.
“We spoke about his injury, how he saw it, how he saw his time on loan and what he wants to do. I got the sense that he wants to be back playing football and playing well. First thing first is get the injury right. You can’t do anything when you’re injured.
“As regards to football, anything else is down to him. He’s 27, he’s pretty well travelled in the football world and what he has achieved at a young age. Some of it is common sense – do the right things. And you know what the right things are.”
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