Deli Alli contract offer a necessary evil for Spurs

Dele Alli receiving a new contract from Tottenham Hotspur is a necessary evil Spurs must embrace as quickly as possible this fall.

News often gets buried among headlines during these fall international breaks that halt European club seasons and drive supporters around the world up figurative walls. Thus, you may have missed that Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly on the verge of offering star midfielder Dele Alli a new contract and a pay raise, as explained by talkSPORT. Matt Law of the Telegraph wrote Spurs are confident Alli will put pen to paper on the deal.

Alli has looked out of sorts since the start of the Premier League campaign. Form is temporary, so goes the footballing adage, and logic suggests it will only be a matter of time before the 21-year-old is again dazzling viewers and frustrating opponents while wearing Tottenham Lilywhite. With that said, one cannot ignore how pedestrian and ordinary Alli has performed during Premier League fixtures.

Some may suggest Alli, not to mention those in the player’s camp, desiring a more lucrative contract could be affecting him this fall. Others may claim the player’s head has been turned by rumors regarding clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid having interest in his services. Those are fine explanations, but Alli is hardly the only individual in the Tottenham squad facing such distractions in October 2017.

Christian Eriksen continues to excel despite stories linking him with Barcelona, and the 25-year-old has even commented on such rumors. New articles about giants of club football pursuing Harry Kane arise just about every time he hits the back of the net in a league contest or on a Champions League evening. We may be only a month or so away from at least one “in the know” individual claiming Harry Winks will leave Spurs for greener pastures next summer.

Not all footballers are the same, obviously, which is why it isn’t a stretch to suggest Alli’s in-game issues stem from off-the-pitch matters. Unlike Kane and Eriksen, who have quieter personalities and who don’t attract much attention outside of football, Alli seems to embrace the superstar persona that essentially snuck up on him out of nowhere at such a young age.

There’s nothing wrong with Alli doing promos for FIFA 18 or appearing on podcasts such as Men in Blazers. He, like every pro athlete who earns recognition and attention, is a brand unto himself. He has a finite amount of time to make the best living for himself until his skills and body betray him. Supporters may not love the thought of any player having even the hint of a dollar sign in one of his eyes, but that’s the nature of the business.

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Spurs awarding Alli with a pay raise is inevitable. He’ll continue to be a bargain for manager Mauricio Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy even after the ink on the paper dries. A new contract will likely only delay his eventual exit from Spurs, but keeping him happy ahead of the club (hopefully) opening its new world-class stadium next summer is a necessary evil.

For starters, that new deal will put more cash in his pocket. Receiving a raise puts smiles on faces regardless of the profession. Football is no different. Alli will realize he’s still being short-changed by Spurs, but the hope, moving forward, is that he’ll be further motivated to play toward a next contract, wherever it may come from ahead of next decade.

Perhaps the harshest pill for Tottenham supporters to swallow about Alli’s future is that Spurs probably won’t factor in it unless some entity swoops in, spends billions of dollars on the club and then begins writing blank checks to keep up with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea. There’s no indication that’s happening in the foreseeable future, so expect Tottenham to lose multiple current stars between now and August 2019.

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It behooves Tottenham to do whatever necessary to settle Alli as quickly as possible before his European suspension ends and he is once again able to feature for Spurs in Champions League contests. Give Alli his raise, Spurs, and let Pochettino work his magic and reclaim Alli’s top form.