Everton to battle Newcastle for midfield target looking to reignite his Premier League career

Everton are showing renewed interest in England midfielder Dele Alli with Tottenham Hotspur apparently ready to negotiate a deal.

Alli did not feature in Sunday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea and has struggled to make an impact under manager Antonio Conte this season.

The Telegraph suggest that Spurs owner Daniel Levy, who is renowned as a tough negotiator, may now have to cut his losses on the player.

Midfield reinforcements would be more than welcome at Goodsion Park with Abdoulaye Doucoure suffering a groin injury in the defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend.

However, big-spenders Newcastle United are also keen on Alli. Eddie Howe’s side have already signed Kieran Tripper and Chris Wood during this transfer window and look set to seal more deals.

Alli’s struggles under Conte

Alli, 25, has only made 10 Premier League appearances this season – with another eight across European and domestic competitions.

Since arriving at the club in November, Conte has opted for the likes of Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp and Bryan Gil.

According to the reports, Alli is one of the players who Conte is keen to move on to bring in new players.

Despite impressing in the home draw with Liverpool in December, Alli wasn’t included in the squad for Sunday’s defeat at Chelsea.

Dele Alli’s career so far

Alli made a name for himself back in the 2015/16 campaign, but he still is only 25 and is still to enter his prime.

Signed for £5m from League One side MK Dons after 24 goals in 88 appearances, Alli became a key part of Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs side and scored in his second league appearance at Leicester City.

Alli went onto score 10 goals and grab nine assists that season as Spurs missed out on the league title.

The midfielder enjoyed his best season the following term as he scored 18 goals in the Premier League and twice in the UEFA Champions League.

After Pochettino was sacked, Alli slowly slipped down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho and eventually struggled under the Portuguese boss, making 15 appearances last season.

A move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium looks like the best choice for Alli if he is to break back into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the Qatar World Cup.

With 37 appearances under his belt, Alli was a key member of the 2016 European Championship and 2018 World Cup, he hasn’t featured for the Three Lions since the Nations League third place play-off victory over Switzerland in 2019.

How likely are Everton to seal a deal?

Understandably, ending his time at Tottenham must be on Alli’s mind but with Everton set to compete with nouveau riche Newcastle, it could be a huge task.

The Magpies are willing to splash the cash, with £25m spent on Chris Wood, who has only scored three times this season. A move for highly-rated defender Diego Carlos is moving closer and some creativity is lacking from their midfield.

If it came down to matching Spurs’ asking price of Alli, which is unknown at the moment, Newcastle are the likely destination. However, depending on who Everton bring in as their new manager, a move to Goodison Park isn’t impossible.