Tuesday 14 March 2017 18:25, UK
Tottenham are facing a spell without Harry Kane but the free-scoring Dele Alli can soften the blow. Ahead of their Nissan Super Sunday meeting with Southampton, we examine how Mauricio Pochettino has taken him to the next level this season…
It felt like a mere footnote after Harry Kane's ankle injury and Heung-min Son's hat-trick, but Dele Alli's second-half strike in Tottenham's 6-0 win over Millwall was his 16th goal of the campaign. The reigning PFA Young Player of the Year is on course to double his tally of 10 for the whole of last season. He's already a shoe-in to retain the award next month.
It is a continuation of his remarkable progress since joining Spurs. Two years ago the former MK Dons youngster was turning out against Swindon and Scunthorpe in League One. Now, still a month shy of his 21st birthday, he is one of the best players in the country, driving his team towards their highest Premier League finish.
But his improved scoring record is also a result of changes made by his manager. Mauricio Pochettino used Alli everywhere from holding midfield to on the wing in his breakout season at Spurs, but this year he has settled him into an advanced role just behind Kane.
It has been a stunning success. The goals have led to comparisons with Frank Lampard, who scored 177 times from midfield across two decades in the Premier League. But as the man himself noted on Monday Night Football last week, Alli's remit has effectively changed from that of a midfielder to a supporting striker.
"His responsibility as a defender has completely gone," he said. "I have to say I agree with it. When he's so clinical, when he makes such good runs around the box and when he's scoring so often with two really solid midfield players behind him, why does he need to get involved in that?"
Why, indeed? With Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele providing solid foundations at the base of midfield, Alli is encouraged to focus his energy further forward. In the recent 3-2 win over Everton, for example, only five of his 49 touches came in Tottenham's half. Not a single one came in their defensive third.
It's a deliberate strategy from Pochettino, who explained the thinking behind it back in January. "Dele Alli, for me, is a killer because he's very aggressive when he runs forward," he said. "He's desperate to go to the box and to get the ball and score. That is an unbelievable mentality and that is because he's a very special player."
Pochettino has pushed Alli up the pitch in order to make the most of that instinctive ability in front of goal. It enabled him to get on the end of Christian Eriksen's low cross against Millwall, and a week before that there was the flicked finish from Harry Winks' free kick against Everton.
"The finish is obviously class, but the thing I loved about his goal is the run which he makes, that sharp run on the angle," added Lampard on Monday Night Football. "That's the special bit for me. As an attacking midfield player or a second striker, running on the angle behind defenders will get you in so many times. He's got that instinct to sniff the right moment to do it."
Those moments are becoming more and more regular. Alli's numbers for tackles, interceptions and clearances have fallen sharply and he is not touching or passing the ball as much as last season, but with greater freedom to attack the opposition box, he is racking up the goals at a rate most strikers would be proud of.
Alli is still working tirelessly too. He is one of only a handful of Premier League players who covers over 12km per game, and his new attacking focus allows him to lead Tottenham's pressing tactics from the front. In that win over Everton, for example, he helped dispossess Morgan Schneiderlin 30 yards from goal before setting up Kane to score his second.
Alli is the youngest midfielder ever to reach 20 Premier League goals, but the stats support the notion that he might be more appropriately categorised as a striker. According to Opta, his touches have come in more advanced average positions than Kane's in four of Tottenham's last 10 league games. Whether they play with three or four at the back, Alli is invariably sent out to attack.
As well as freedom on the pitch, Alli has Pochettino's unconditional support off it. The head coach's response to his recent red card against Gent was to show him "more love than normal". He knows that Alli's competitive edge, his unwavering determination and self-belief, is all part of what makes him so special.
Lampard sees it too. "I love his confidence," he added. "He believes in his own ability and rightly so. Not many players come into a Premier League team and do that. That's not the norm. That's Wayne Rooney, that's Michael Owen. The rest of us have to feel our way in. He is certainly ahead of the game."
Tottenham will need that extraordinary progress to continue in the weeks ahead. Son and Vincent Janssen do not offer the same firepower as Kane, so Alli's contribution becomes even more important. It's a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but Alli has already shown he can rise to a challenge. If his goals keep coming, Tottenham might just be okay.
