Nuno reveals his ‘message’ to Dele Alli following recent resurgence in Spurs midfielder’s form

Tottenham Hotspur boss Nuno Espirito Santo has revealed his ‘message’ to Dele Alli, following the recent resurgence in the midfielder’s form.

The arrival of the Portuguese coach has seemingly been a welcome one for the former MK Dons man, having slipped way down the pecking order in the last 18 months or so under Jose Mourinho.

The situation was at such a point that the 25-year-old was often absent from the matchday squad throughout last season, going on to feature in just 15 Premier League games, the large chunk of which came from the substitutes’ bench.

Alli had previously emerged as one of the brightest young talents in the country following his move to Spurs in 2015, going on to net 28 league goals in his first two seasons combined, including an impressive tally of 18 league strikes in the 2016/17 season.

Since then, however, he has failed to reach double figures in any of the previous four seasons and went the whole league campaign without scoring last term, with the former England regular now firmly out of the international reckoning.

That being said, however, the early indications are that he could well play a key role at Spurs this season, having started the opening two games and netted the winner from the penalty spot in last weekend’s victory over Wolves.

According to his new boss, Alli is a ‘very talented player’ and impressed at Molineux, although he needs to aim for greater consistency to remain in the side.

“He had a fantastic match against Wolves,” said Nuno at his pre-match press conference. “His work-rate was fantastic.

“Dele is a very talented player but what he is doing is the way he should do it and improve.

“He needs to keep on being consistent, work hard and help the team, keep doing what he is doing every day. He comes to the building, his attitude…

“The talent is there and it is up to us to find the best solutions, creating relationships, but he is doing well.”

After having been linked with an exit from the club in recent seasons, the midfielder now appears more settled following the change in manager, with Santo revealing he had offered the player some advice.

Asked what his advice to Alli had been, Nuno added: “My message to all the players has been exactly the same. It is a unique message: the best of each one of us, for the team. What happened in the past, it’s the past.”

Alli is likely to feature once again as Spurs host Watford on Sunday afternoon.

Rating the quality of each ‘big six’ sides central midfield options