Mauricio Pochettino cools talk of England call for Dele Alli
Friday 25 September 2015 15:13, UK
Tottenham head coach Mauricio Pochettino says it is too soon for Dele Alli to be talked about as an England player.
Alli, who joined Spurs in January before being loaned straight back to MK Dons for the rest of the season, has been a revelation in Tottenham's midfield this season, forcing his way into Pochettino's starting line-up with a series of sparkling displays.
England boss Roy Hodgson watched the 19-year-old play 90 minutes in Tottenham's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace last Sunday and is believed to be considering the midfielder for October's matches against Estonia and Lithuania.
Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Danny Rose have all received debut call-ups under Pochettino, but he has warned against rushing Alli into the national set-up.
"It's the same situation as last season with Harry Kane," he said. "Be careful with the younger players, the players who arrive in the Premier League and perform well. It's not easy.
"But again, like last season, it's not my decision. It's Roy Hodgson's decision if he wants to call up Dele Alli.
"You can see he's a player that is very mature and shows great quality but always in football it's step by step and we need to be careful.
"He will mature. He has personality and good character. But it is too much of a rush to talk about bigger steps for him."
Kane has scored just two goals in 16 appearances since scoring 79 seconds into his England debut in March and is yet to get off the mark in the league this season, but Pochettino has no plans to rest the 22-year-old for Saturday's lunchtime clash with Manchester City.
"He was on the bench against Qarabag but I think he needs to play to have the opportunity to score," he said.
"We need to stop speaking about Harry Kane, we need to let him do his job. The most important thing is I'm very happy with his effort, the way he has been playing.
"Strikers need to score but it is only a matter of time, the goal is coming. You always need to try to ask why - he needs to improve, we need to ask why to improve his performance in games.
"This is a tough moment because he needs to score because he is a striker, but around the club, in the changing room, we believe in him."
