The midfielder claims to have ambitions of playing at the 2026 World Cup, but those seem wildly unrealistic at this point
It's been another turbulent year for Dele Alli. After being let go by Everton in 2024, he had renewed hope of starting life afresh with Como, the plucky Serie A newcomers managed by Cesc Fabregas and frequented by Hollywood royalty. He is now, however, once again without a club and hoping his next chapter will bring better fortune.
Capped on 37 occasions by England during his young prime, Dele is a million miles away from where the masses thought he would be at the age of 29. By the end of this season, the two-time PFA Young Player of the Year winner will have rolled into his thirties, in case you wanted to feel just that little bit older today.
Following on from his emotional interview with Gary Neville in 2023, in which he revealed a history of sexual abuse during an incredibly troubled childhood, Dele has received an outpouring of support. It has put his career to date into context – he is a massive success story regardless of how the rest of his playing days pan out. What Dele does do next and where his talents take him are up to the man himself, however.
Where does Dele go from here? Why has he not been able to rediscover the form that propelled him to superstardom? Will he ever play for England again and make good on his wish to play at the 2026 World Cup?
Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesOne Como appearance
When Dele came off the bench for the final 10 minutes of Como's trip to AC Milan in March, he would have found it hard to believe that would be his only appearance for the club. He would have found it even harder to fathom how the match ended. With the visitors trailing 2-1 but chomping at the bit for an equaliser, the introduction of Dele to find that crucial goal seemed logical, yet this would be the only time the world would see him don the blue of I Lariani.
While trying to chase down former England team-mate and Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dele accidentally clipped his heels. At first, the referee brandished a yellow card for a clumsy foul, but after a VAR review, this was upgraded to a red, and 10-man Como departed San Siro without any points to show for their efforts. Post-match, Dele uploaded a series of pictures to Instagram to commemorate his return, including a WhatsApp exchange with Loftus-Cheek in which they both expressed their shock at the decision to send him off. Hilarious for neutrals, yes, but one that may not have impressed the supporters and staff at Como.
"It was definitely a special feeling just because I know the journey," Dele said to Como's social media team. "I'd been obviously focused on the game and trying to help the team. We were 2-1 down, so I wanted to go out there, I wanted to help, to score or help the team score, just play a part and turn the result around. For me it was clear what I was trying to do, it was a tactical foul, a tactical yellow, no malice or force, or recklessness in the challenge. You see the pictures after the game of my stud on his calf but there was no force or anything. If you pause the image of course it looks bad."
It speaks volumes that Fabregas didn't call upon Dele again in any of their remaining games for the 2024-25 season, instead logging seven appearances on the bench as an unused substitute.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportReason for exit
On September 1, 2025, Como and Dele released a joint statement confirming that his future lies away from the club, resulting in the decision to rip up his deal in Lombardy. The statement read: "Como 1907 and Dele Alli have agreed to a mutual termination of his contract. Dele is keen to secure regular playing opportunities and, as he was not part of the club's immediate plans, both parties felt it was the right decision to part ways ahead of the transfer window closing. The club thanks Dele for his time at Como and wishes him the very best for the future."
It would have been easy for Como to simply pen a release on their own and leave the details of Dele's departure absent, to let him fend for himself in the dog-eat-dog world of football and deal with the aftermath himself. To corroborate in this manner presumes Dele indeed tried his hardest to make this half-season move work, and though it didn't pan out the way either party planned, there's no bad blood between them.
Como reassigned Dele's No.8 shirt to new arrival Sergi Roberto, a friend and former Barcelona team-mate of Fabregas, during the summer, suggesting both sides knew that a split was forthcoming. Nevertheless, the public desire for Dele to play frequently is clear for all to see in black and white.
Getty Images Sport29 games in four years
Since leaving Tottenham midway through 2021-22, Dele has only features in 29 matches. Thirteen of those came at Everton, another 15 on loan at Besiktas, and then the one solitary appearance for Como. He hasn't scored a goal in a top-five league in that timespan.
You have to go back even further to find a time where Dele was in any sort of fine form. Though his detractors often point to the warning given by Jose Mourinho expressed during Tottenham's Amazon Prime documentary, the two formed a fine relationship in their first few months together. Dele registered 10 goal involvements – finding the net six times and providing the assist on four other occasions – under the 'Special One's management in 2019-20, and he was a key pillar of that Spurs side before the world was plunged into lockdown.
That's how long it's been since Dele was a player that top-level teams feared. The word 'coronavirus' meant very little to anyone outside of China. 'Social distancing' was an unknown concept. Playing football behind closed doors for a whole calendar year seemed an absurd idea regardless of the situation. Nowadays, those are all historical points in a dark period of human history, and we are now over half a decade removed from its beginnings.
If there is a player still in Dele, it's hard to imagine it's at that same level. To take a punt on him would be quite the experiment for any team under pressure at either end of whatever league they're competing in.
Getty Images Sport'Injuries are a big part'
For the most part, Dele's decline has been put down to injuries, as attested to by former MK Dons team-mate Dean Lewington. "It's a shame. I think everyone thought Como was a good move – getting out of the limelight of England and going away and just getting his head down and playing games, it seemed like it would be the right move for him," Lewington said on in August.
“But it's just a shame it doesn't seem to have worked out, for whatever reason. I think injuries are a big part. He just can't seem to get a run of games or get any football. And if you're not playing at his age, it causes other stuff as well. So it's just a shame that it's not quite worked out for him.
"I think those first three seasons at Tottenham, he won PFA Young Player of the Year twice. And his numbers and his stats were incredible. And the documentary that came out, I don't think helped him. I think the change of manager, when [Mauricio] Pochettino left, really affected him, and injuries and other stuff that he had going on. But he just never seemed to be able to recapture those early years, where I think he was probably one of the most promising players in England for a few years at that time."