Dele Alli, a midfielder for Everton, acknowledged a setback in his knee recovery but promised to “come back stronger” in a social media post.
On Friday evening (6 October), Alli posted numerous images of himself working out on his Instagram account along with a statement saying there had been a “setback with the injury” but that he was “making sure I come stronger than ever.”
Dele had hip surgery in the off-season after spending the previous campaign on loan at Besiktas, and he has already experienced one setback in his recovery [Daily Mail, 9 August], as well as disclosing a number of his off-field issues in an emotional interview with Gary Neville (13 July).
“Setback with the injury, but making sure I come back stronger than ever!” he posted on Instagram.
Future possibilities for Everton exist.
It would be incorrect to write off Dele immediately because his recovery from injury raises the likelihood that he will play a role in the Everton first team soon.
According to Dyche’s remarks about the Tottenham negotiations from back in September [Liverpool Echo, 23 September], Everton is not trying to back out of the agreement; rather, they are seeking to make it more financially feasible given his injury recovery and possible first-team opportunities.
The first agreement, which the Toffees secured in January 2022 and which may increase to £40 million if certain performance targets are satisfied, was quite contentious.
That is a substantial sum of money, and since those performance standards are now not being maintained, Dyche revealed that Everton will be returning to the negotiation table with Spurs.
Alli will continue to have the possibility to play for the first team as long as the former Burnley manager is in charge at Goodison Park, but that opportunity is still quite a ways off as he speeds up his rehabilitation.
Everton could really need the guy they believed they had signed back then right now, but it’s unclear whether Alli will be able to perform at such levels once more, and it’s not even certain at a team that isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders in the Premier League.
In other Everton news, Dyche might have pulled off a brilliant move behind the scenes following newly confirmed Merseyside contract news.
