Dele Alli has reportedly hit a stumbling block as he plans to step his return to football, nearly two years on from his last match.
The former Tottenham and England man is out of contract after his Everton deal expired at the end of last season, but he has been working at the Toffees’ training ground in a bid to end his injury-ridden nightmare.
The Daily Mail claim that Sean Dyche’s outfit are prepared to offer Alli a new contract if he can prove his fitness. That is especially after Spurs’ gift to the player and club that they will not take up the £10million condition in a deal that took him to Goodison Park, which would have been paid out if he made 20 appearances.
Alli has played 13 times for Everton but whether he can add to that tally depends on whether he can rediscover his fitness.
However, having not signed a deal with Everton he is unable to be registered to play in Under-21 matches, where he would get a better chance in proving his health and durability.
He does not have the option to complete a programme of games, as opposed to someone on the club’s books, confining his recovery to the training facilities where he works at the Finch Farm gym.
Behind-closed-doors friendlies, where Alli would be viewed as a trialist, are thought to be an option.
Spurs are willing to write off the £10m they potentially could be viewed, but Everton still may end up paying Ange Postecoglou’s side further if he returns to the Toffees’ first team.
The north London outfit would insist on being compensated with performance-based bonuses and a sell-on clause if he were to leave Merseyside for a fee.
Lille are one of the clubs in Europe thought to be interested in signing Alli, where he would join the likes of England international Angel Gomes, Jonathan David and his former Spurs team-mate Nabil Bentaleb.
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But Alli’s focus will solely be on returning to match fitness, having spent over 18 months sidelined since his last appearance during an underwhelming loan spell at Besiktas.
Just last week he posted a photo of a pair of dirty boots on social media, captioning the image “brick by brick” in a reference to the hard work he is undertaking behind the scenes.
He made significant progress before being hampered by a recent muscle sprain, as explained by Dyche: “He’s just making sure he’s right. He’s had a little bit of a slip back with his fitness so he is just in that total recovery period.”
While matches with the Under-21s remain out of the question, Alli is continuing to build his fitness with the goal of competing for England at the World Cup in 2026.