Everton are in talks with Tottenham Hotspur over the future of Dele Alli as the Blues continue to support his recovery from injury.
The 28-year-old is training at Finch Farm after being offered Everton's assistance as he works to overcome the groin issue that prevented him from playing a role last season.
While he is now out of contract, the terms of the move that brought him to Merseyside from Tottenham would complicate any attempt by the Blues to sign him to a new deal. The ECHO understands Everton are in talks with Spurs about renegotiating the original terms of that agreement. If the club is successful then Dele could be given an opportunity to prove himself during pre-season.
The discussions are the latest to form part of a long-running conversation between the clubs over the player. Last season, as he appeared close to a return following surgery last summer, there were talks about the terms of his January 2022 transfer - which made efforts to help Dele's recovery prohibitive due to the payments that would have been due should he have gone on to hit performance milestones.
While no breakthrough was reached, they became redundant when the England international suffered an unfortunate setback in training to his groin injury, one that went on to prevent him from being available to feature last season.
After nearing a return towards the end of last season he has spent this summer working hard, engaging in close-season training camps in Portugal and London before returning to Finch Farm on day one of Everton’s pre-season on Monday as he took up the club’s offer of support in his rehabilitation.
Whether that relationship is to develop further now appears to be dependent on the talks between the Blues and Spurs which could, if successful, allow Dele the chance to make a case for a new deal this summer.
While he is yet to make an appearance under Sean Dyche, Dele struck up a good relationship with the Everton boss last season. Dyche has spoken of the value of Dele’s football intelligence and its use in communicating ideas to his players.
Reflecting on this last November, he explained: “You forget that he has experienced some really big things in football. He’s played in a Champions League final, he’s played in a World Cup semi-final. These are amazing things he’s experienced.