Tottenham Hotspur’s rising star Dele Alli has drawn a lot of criticism for his attempted punch on West Brom’s Claudio Yacob, but Liverpool FC legend Jamie Carragher believes this is a positive thing.
In a 1-1 draw for Spurs, Alli was frustrated by Yacob who constantly kept a tab on him during the game. This eventually led to Alli punching Yacob around the stomach in a tussle inside the box. Yacob, however, stayed on his feet and continued to hustle Alli as before.
Carragher says that Alli was lucky that the referee did not see the incident, but goes on to state that he sees something of a young Wayne Rooney in Alli’s reaction to all the hustling by Yacob.
“It was a little right hook to the rib cage – fair play to Yacob, he carries on, but Alli is fortunate that the referee didn’t see that incident clearly,” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “These are the types of situations that Wayne Rooney was involved in.”
The former England international also said this will be a huge learning curve for a young player like Alli. He said, “He was a similar type of character. A fire-ball, who wanted to be involved in everything and be competitive. But tonight will be a massive learning curve for him – not only the Yacob incident – but understanding the 90 minutes of that type of game.”
In fact, former Liverpool player Greame Souness also added that Alli must learn to deal with such frustrating games and tactics by opposition, if he wishes to become a great player later on in his career.
“It’s just petulance – he’s not going to hurt anyone but he’s got that in him,” said Souness. “For him to become a top, top player he’s got to retain that – he’s got to accept that lesser lights like Yacob will mess him around.”
Not the end of the road for Alli
Although it has been a breakthrough season for Alli, this is not exactly a perfect campaign for the 20-year-old, as Tottenham now find themselves seven points behind Leicester with just three matches to go. However, this will be a good learning curve for the young midfielder, as Spurs prepare themselves to challenge the hegemony of the so-called bigger clubs in the Premier League.
Also, the fact that Alli will get to play in the Champions League next season means he will get more chances to grow as a player. To add to that factor, England boss Roy Hodgson is also likely to call him up for the Euro 2016 squad. A tournament of that stature will also give Alli a lot of vital experience.
