Dele Alli

Dele Alli is an English professional footballer

Bamidele Jermaine "Dele" Alli (born 11 April 1996), is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team.

Born and raised in Milton Keynes, he joined the youth system at Milton Keynes Dons aged 11 and broke into the first team five years later, during the 2012–13 season. Over the next two-and-a-half years he made 88 official appearances for the team, scoring 24 goals. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur in February 2015 for an initial fee of £5 million, being loaned back to the Dons for the remainder of the season. In each of his first two campaigns at White Hart Lane, Alli was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year and made the PFA Team of the Year.

Alli played for the England U17, U18 and U19 teams, before making his senior debut in 2015. He was selected for UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, helping England to the semi-finals of the latter.

Alli scored his first goal of the season in the opening game of the 2017–18 season away at Newcastle that finished in a 2–0 win. However, he was criticised for his inconsistency this season, failing to perform as well as the previous season. On 1 April 2018, Alli scored twice in the away fixture against Chelsea, helping Tottenham win 3–1, which was their first win in 28 years at Stamford Bridge.

2018–19 season

On 11 August 2018, Alli scored his first goal of the season, scoring the winning goal in the opening league match against Newcastle United.

Alli was selected for the 23-man England squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 7 July, Alli scored the second goal of the game in a 2–0 win over Sweden in the quarter-finals of the competition, as England reached the semi-finals for the first time in 28 years. Alli played for England in the semi-final match against Croatia, winning a free-kick through which England took the lead, though they eventually lost 2–1 following extra-time.

Alli is widely considered one of the best young midfielders of his generation,and has won PFA Young Player of the Year twice in a row while only 21. He is also considered an all-round player who can play effectively as a second striker.