‘Two runts’ - ex-Premier League chairman’s scathing verdict on Everton signing Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek

Everton have signed the ‘two runts of the proverbial litters’ following the arrivals of Dele Alli and Donny van de Beck on January transfer deadline day.

And ex-Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan is not convinced that Alli will ever revive his career, having once been one of the best young talents in Europe.

Frank Lampard marked his first day as Everton manager with two recruits before the transfer window shut on Monday evening.

Van de Beek arrived on loan from Manchester United for the remainder of the season, having made only eight Premier League appearances so far this term.

Meanwhile, Alli's Tottenham Hotspur nightmare came to an end, having fallen out of favour for the past 18 months.

The Blues have signed the midfielder on an initial free transfer, with a future fee based on the number of appearances he makes.

But speaking on talkSPORT, Jordan isn't convinced Alli will ever recapture the form that helped Tottenham reach the Champions League semi-final in 2019 and World Cup semi-final with England a year earlier.

He said: “I think it's a shocking indictment of how far Dele Alli has disappeared down the rabbit hole of opportunities that he's managed to throw away.

“It's a day late and a dollar short for his career. I don't think he is going to recover what he had before and this is a huge sea change.

“For Tottenham to have allowed him to go out on a deal that is effectively two and six, if you're talking about a player - a leading force in the 2018 World Cup and considered to be one of the most prestigious talents in the Premier League and everyone was looking at to be the blueprint.

“I remember sitting here with Gordon Strachan a few years ago trying to work out what he was. He said he's the best number10 in the world but I couldn't see it and can't see it now.

“Everton don't get him for two and six, a bag of gobstoppers and a deferred payment plan unless there is very little regard for him.

“There is clearly no regard for him at Tottenham, they don't believe they can get any financial return for him, there's no regard for him in the transfer market where they can pitch him against anyone else to get some competitive leverage into a deal to make some transfer return.

“It's an incredible punt from Everton's point of view.

“It's not a blunder because of the cost implications are so negligible, you've got something you can almost take a view on.

“It depends what his salary is but you'll factor that in. The average player in the Premier League is on £70-80,000 a week. If you put him somewhere north of that on £120-130,000 per week, which he's not even worth a quarter of, you find yourself in a situation you have to question.

“If there's a possibility to get the previous Dele Alli he's not modelling BooHoo pants then maybe.

“You think Frank maybe was given few options and he needed to have some new bodies in the building - because he's got two runts of the proverbial litters.

“He's got Man Utd saying Donny van de Beek is a pup because we can't find anywhere to play him or ever play him and you've got Dele Alli who has gone through the mincer.”