In this piece, I’ll be talking a little bit about the two things I absolutely adore as an avid football/soccer fan:
(a)The Barclays Premier League (The most watched league in the world) and
(b) My beloved Nigerian National Men’s Football team (or the Super Eagles as they are fondly called)
The subject to which these two things are centred around is none other than promising Nigerian born starlet Bamidele ‘Dele’ Alli and I’ll be giving you the low-down on this precocious young talent.
WHO IS DELE ALLI?
Bamidele Jermaine ‘Dele’ Alli was born in the town of Milton Keynes on the 11th of April 1996, where he joined the youth setup of Milton Keynes Dons as an 11 year old. Such was his undoubtable talent that he broke into the first team five years later at the tender age of 16, during the 2012/2013 English Football League One season. He became a regular fixture in the team and had his most prolific spell in the 2014/2015 season, where he came into global reckoning with an inspired performance against Premier League Giants Manchester United in the Capital One Cup, a match which MK Dons won 4-0. This led to him being scouted constantly by some of the biggest clubs on the continent including the likes of Liverpool (the club he supported as a boy), Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur amongst others. Rumours even began circulating that Alli had been convinced to join Liverpool by Steven Gerrard, his idol. Speculation continued on where his future would lie until February 2015 when he signed for North London giants Tottenham Hotspur for £5 million. He was immediately loaned back to MK Dons where he continued to impress and ultimately helped his team to Promotion from the Football League One with an impressive return of 16 goals and 9 assists from midfield. Despite being only 19, Alli has gone from strength to strength and already has some noteworthy individual accolades to his name such as the Football League Young Player of the Month for August and January, Football League Young Player of the Year award for 2014/2015 and was named in the Football League One Team of the Year.
STYLE OF PLAY
Many comparisons have been drawn between Alli and his footballing idol, Liverpool Legend Steven Gerrard, because of his eye for a killer pass, quick thinking on the ball and impressive shooting ability. But the most noticeable attribute of this young man in the games I’ve seen him play is his work rate, his 39 League starts a testament to his remarkable stamina levels.
PROSPECTS
On the club front, the future seems to be bright for the 19 year old, since Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino prides himself on bringing through young talents into his first team. You only need to look at the likes of Harry Kane, Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason who have seamlessly made the transition to the first team, with Kane and Mason being called up to the England senior squad this past season. On the international scene however, there still seems to be a bit of uncertainty over where his allegiance will lie considering that he is eligible for Nigeria through his father and for England through his mother. There are even rumours about Ex-Wimbledon striker John Fashanu, who is of Nigerian descent, contacting Alli about the possibility of him opting for Nigeria. Seeing as head coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, has in recent times placed his faith in talents from the diaspora (Williams Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun come to mind), don’t be too surprised to see him lining up in the green and white of Nigeria anytime soon……not that I or any other true fan of the Super Eagles would be complaining!!!
