Everton make Dele Alli stance clear after £10m renegotiation talks begin

Everton have started talks with Tottenham Hotspur over Dele Alli as they seek to bring him back into the first-team matchday squads.

Alli, 27, has been sidelined since leaving Besiktas on loan halfway through last season and is currently beginning the long process of rehab at the current time.

Sean Dyche confirmed that “He’s back on the grass, he’s in a good place.” during his most recent press conference and the midfielder will continue to build up his match fitness as the club looks to negotiate his appearance clause with Tottenham.

According to TeleFootball, Everton are in talks with Tottenham to renegotiate the £10M appearance clause over Alli. Dyche reportedly wants to reintegrate him into the squad but the first payment - of £10M - is triggered when Dele plays his 20th game for Everton and he has played 13 times to date.

His last appearance came for Besiktas in February of this year for the Turkish side but the last time we saw him in an Everton shirt was even longer ago - he played nine minutes off the bench against Aston Villa on August 13, 2022.

In total, he has played just 13 times since arriving from Spurs on a free as he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract until the end of June 2024. The original deal saw Everton negotiate an unusual transfer with Spurs to sign Alli on a free with £10m payable after 20 appearances.

Dyche revealed that talks were ongoing: ‌“No not yet, Kev (Thelwell) has had a couple of phone calls just lightly in the background, (asking Tottenham) look where do you see it?’ But nothing has changed at the moment.

‌“I must make it clear he is on the grass but still a long way from being fit, he is not training with us he is with the sports science staff.

‌“He is just really getting back to where he was He was drastically unfortunate when the rehab (went) wrong after an operation, and it is almost more time than the original moment.

‌“But the specialists advised to leave it alone and just let it heal naturally. He is in a good place, but he is still quite far away (from playing).”

As it stands, Dyche wants him in the first-team squad but with Everton’s strict financial restrictions it could prove difficult unless they can renegotiate successfully. Otherwise, it stands as a big risk to allow him to play seven more times which will eventually cost them millions of pounds.

Following his very open and honest interview about his mental health struggles on the Overlap with Gary Neville a few months ago, the footballing world has been behind Dele in his efforts to find his way back.

Prior to Everton, he was a leading player for club and country and clearly Dyche is betting on the former England international to rediscover some sort of form, as he could add an extra dimension in midfield and as well as being a great comeback story for Alli who has struggled to reignite his career for so long.