Dele Alli caught the eye in Tottenham Hotspur’s Europa League victory over Ludogorets – and pundit Owen Hargreaves has an interesting theory about the England international. Alli has found his first-team chances limited under Jose Mourinho so far this season. He has only featured twice for Spurs in the Premier League this term – and not since the 6-1 win at Manchester United at the start of October. This lack of action has sparked plenty of speculation about his future at the club. However, Alli got a chance to impress against the Bulgarian champions – and took it with both hands. He provided two assists for Carlos Vinicius and was a constant threat throughout. Former Manchester United and England midfielder Hargreaves believes Alli was playing with a “chip on his shoulder” – and that could bring out the best in him.
Michael Owen said “When he gets physical and gets into the game and gets angry, he plays with a chip on his shoulder. He took those moments to build a bit of confidence and then the flair comes out. (In his previous appearance against Antwerp) it was safe and the confidence wasn’t there. I’m happy for him, I think there’s a special player in there and he’s too good to not be playing football. The good thing is he can look at Ndombele last year and what he gives to the team now. Dele can do that but if he’s going to play in the team he has go get goals and assists and get that chip back. Mourinho likes players who are a bit angry, but if he plays like he did (against Ludogorets) he’ll get better.”
