Is Dele Alli really the best young player in world football?
Mauricio Pochettino said recently that Dele Alli is without dubt the best young player in world football, we take a closer look at the Spurs man and see if that really is the case.
Speaking following the 4-1 win over Bournemouth last week Pochettino gave the youngster a glowing ensorsement, saying: "When you compare him, Dele Alli, a 21-year-old, with all the players in the world, I think he is the best in his age. In his form, assists, everything. For me Dele Alli, in his age, is the best - that's it."
It is true that as football fans we often forget about the impact of a player's age and whilst Alli hasn't been at his best this season, he is still just 21, with dips in form natural at that sort of age.
Simply put, Alli's arrival in the Premier League was a breath of fresh air. Here was a player who had come from the lower leagues and worked his way up and he was desperate to prove that he belonged at the top level.
In 2015/16, Alli's first season in the English top flight, he scored 10 goals and laid on nine assists in 33 games from midfield. His goalscoring form improved the following season as he found the net on 18 occasions and once again backed that up with nine assists.
In fact, his tally of 34 Premier League goals before the age of 22 is only bettered by five players, all of which were strikers (Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Romelu Lukaku), whilst only Ryan Giggs (26), Cesc Fabregas (46) and Wayne Rooney (31) had created more goals than Alli's 25 before reaching the age of 22.
Whatever you make of Alli, it is nice to hear a young English player called one of the best in the world.