Given the state of the current Tottenham Hotspur team, languishing in 14th place and Ange Postecoglou biting back at the club’s supporters, it feels hard to believe that it wasn’t long ago they were in the final of a Champions League.
The year was 2019. The team was managed by Mauricio Pochettino. The likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Co were all in their pomp.
It was a magnificent side but even they couldn’t end Spurs’ trophy drought. Perhaps they really are cursed in that department?
Since that final, the team has been torn into several different pieces. Pochettino is the head coach of the USA, Harry Kane is still banging in the goals, but at Bayern Munich no less, and Dele is also on foreign soil.
Mauricio Pochettino coach of U.S. during the match
We’ve heard enough about Kane in recent years so let’s get you up to speed on Dele’s career.
How Dele Alli is faring in 2025
A generational talent. An England star with the world at his feet. In 2019, that’s where Dele certainly was in his career.
This was a player with the swagger and arrogance of a Jude Bellingham. He was a PFA Young Player of the Year winner and someone who was surely on their way to earning 100 caps for their country.
In 2016/17, he scored 18 times in the Premier League, assisting eight goals in the process. The following campaign he followed that up with nine goals and ten assists. The Champions League final year wasn’t his best, netting five league goals and assisting three but he was still seen as an icon in the making at Tottenham.
So, what happened next? Well, Pochettino’s sacking is perhaps the catalyst. Dele didn’t exactly see eye to eye with a certain Jose Mourinho, scoring ten goals in 51 outings. It’s not a bad record but it’s not the draw-dropping numbers the England international was pumping out regularly under Poch.
Sadly, the now 28-year-old’s career has not lived up to the hype. We can excuse that, though, because Dele has endured a torrid time of it with both physical injury and his mental health.
A revealing interview with Gary Neville in 2023 saw him try to fight back the tears as he revealed how he contemplated retiring from the game amid a sleeping pill addiction.
“Probably the saddest moment for me, was when [Jose] Mourinho was [Tottenham] manager, I think I was 24. I remember there was one session, like one morning I woke up and I had to go to training – this is when he’d stopped playing me – and I was in a bad place. I mean, it sounds dramatic but I was literally staring in the mirror – and I was asking if I could retire now, at 24, doing the thing I love. For me, that was heartbreaking to even have had that thought at 24, to want to retire. That hurt me a lot, that was another thing that I had to carry.”
Since that interview, the attacking midfielder has worked hard to return to playing. Injury at Everton meant he barely kicked a ball but now, in 2025, he’s been given a second chance.
Signed by none other than Cesc Fabregas, he’s now plying his trade in Serie A with Como. It’s not a bad place to play football.
He made his comeback last weekend, although was sent off in controversial circumstances on debut for a challenge on fellow countryman Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Despite Milan right-back Kyle Walker pleading with the referee to keep him on the pitch, Dele was given his marching orders.
So, while his career hasn’t gone in the direction he will have envisioned, we wish him all the very best. We also wish the best for Spurs’ new Dele. He’s a pretty mighty fine talent himself.
Spurs new Dele is breaking through under Ange
It’s safe to say that Tottenham Hotspur boast some of the finest young talents on the footballing scene right now, a statement substantiated by the fact that in GOAL’s prestigious NXGN 2025 list, they had five players ranked in the top 50.
The player we want to focus on is a certain Archie Gray. The 19-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable rise, one that’s akin to Dele.
Like the former Tottenham Hotspur star, Gray learned his trade in the EFL, starring for Leeds after being handed his first-team debut at the age of 16.
He shone as the Whites nearly secured promotion in 2023/24, only missing two Championship games all season.
It was hardly a surprise to see him attract the attention of the Premier League’s elite, and he ultimately joined Spurs for a fee of £30m.
It was a much larger fee than the £5m price tag Dele moved from Milton Keynes Dons for, but it showed the benefit of moving for some of the Football League’s best talents.
Similarly to the former MK star, Gray hasn’t needed long to settle into his surroundings, despite a baptism of fire in north London.
Due to several first-team injuries, the midfielder – who played at right-back for Leeds last term – was forced to play at centre-back. In fact, 19 of his 38 Spurs appearances have come in the centre of defence.
It was evident it wasn’t his natural position, but he performed admirably in that role, nonetheless, with Postecoglou hailing his qualities: “He doesn’t shy away from it, he doesn’t hide. He just keeps going. We’ll get enormous growth out of him during this period, but right now he’s contributing to us, he’s helping us.”
Since the return of key players, Gray has now moved into his preferred position of central midfield. It’s the same position Dele made his own nearly ten years ago.
Said to be a “future England player” by data analyst Ben Mattinson, Thomas Tuchel and Postecoglou have a gem on their hands here, one they will hope can replicate Dele’s feats at international and club level in the years to come.
