Everton confirm Dele Alli and Neal Maupay squad number decisions as potential hint dropped

Everton have confirmed four players have changed squad numbers ahead of the 2023-24 season.

James Tarkowski will now don the number six jersey, with the number two strip going to Nathan Patterson. The Scotland international previously wore number three after arriving from Rangers in January 2022 and Tarkowski takes up the squad number previously held by Allan before his exit to United Arab Emirates outfit Al Wahda last September.

Meanwhile, Neal Maupay has moved to number 13 so that Dele Alli can wear number 20 again.

The fact that Dele has regained his favoured shirt number suggests that he potentially may be in Sean Dyche’s plans for the upcoming season.

The midfielder forged himself a reputation as one of the best young players in Europe earlier in his career. He helped England reach the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and played a key role as Tottenham Hotspur to the Champions League final a year later.

Dele’s output took a downward trajectory at Spurs, though, before joining Everton in January 2022. For the remainder of the season, he was part of the Toffees squad that avoided Premier League status relegation - making a total of 11 appearances - before spending last term on loan at Besiktas.

Although Dele struggled for form in Turkey and had his stay cut short as he required hip surgery in April, he has since admitted to off-the-field problems with an addiction to sleeping pills and being abused as a child. The 27-year-old spent several weeks in a rehab clinic in America over the summer.

Everton will have to pay Tottenham £10 million if Dele makes seven more appearances - and hits a total of 20 - for the club. There has been some debate as to whether he will feature in Dyche’s plans for the season given the Blues’ financial predicament.

And although Dele is still to make an outing in pre-season as he continues his recovery from surgery, the fact he has been given his preferred jersey could imply he has a part to play for Everton.