When it comes to brilliant players, Tottenham Hotspur have been blessed with more than their fair share over the last ten years.
The likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were genuinely world-class for the Lilywhites and, as a result, formed one of the best attacking partnerships the Premier League has ever seen.
Likewise, Mousa Dembélé and Cristian Eriksen were sensational in midfield, but someone who arguably doesn’t get the credit he deserves anymore is Dele Alli.
While the Englishman is still struggling to find form in Italy at the moment, he was near enough unstoppable for several years at Tottenham, and based on reports from the last few weeks, Daniel Levy and Co could sign the club their next Dele.
Dele's Spurs career
In February 2015, Tottenham agreed to pay then-League One side MK Dons £5m for an incredibly exciting 18-year-old prospect by the name of Dele.
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While it usually takes youngsters a number of years to get up to speed in a top-flight team, the Milton Keynes-born gem took no time at all and, by the end of his first campaign in the capital, had racked up an astonishing tally of ten goals and ten assists in just 46 appearances.
Such an explosive start to life at the highest level saw him win the PFA Young Player of the Year award, and he did not stop there, as his sophomore season with the Lilywhites was even better and saw him score 22 goals and provide 12 assists in 50 appearances – enough to win a second successive Young Player of the Year award.
For a while, it looked like the youngster was going to become one of the very best players in the world, someone capable of playing in multiple positions at the highest standard.
However, as we know, that didn’t happen, and after a few seasons of increasingly disappointing performances, Dele moved to Everton in February 2020 – almost five years after signing for the North Londoners.
Appearances
269
Minutes
19162′
Goals
67
Assists
58
Goal Involvements per Match
0.46
Minutes per Goal Involvement
153.29′
The club haven’t had a player like the 37-capped international, but there is a chance they could do so soon.
Spurs' potential new Dele
The last few weeks have seen many talented players linked with moving to Spurs, but perhaps one of the most exciting names, and someone who could be the club’s new Dele, is Xavi Simons.
According to reports from late last week, the North Londoners are ‘favourites’ to land the incredibly talented international from RB Leipzig, although doing so would cost up to £67m.
Described as “one of the best 10s in the world” in the words of one analyst on social media, what is it about the Dutchman that means he could be the Lilywhites’ new Dele?
Firstly, he is incredibly versatile and can play on either wing, up top, as a second striker and in attacking and central midfield areas, so just like the Englishman, he could thrive just off the centre-forward or deeper if required.
Moreover, just like the former MK Dons gem in his early seasons in North London, the Amsterdam-born “superstar,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, is an output machine.
Appearances
43
Goals
10
Assists
15
Goal Involvements per Match
0.58
Appearances
33
Goals
11
Assists
8
Goal Involvements per Match
0.57
For example, in 43 appearances last season, he scored ten goals and provided 15 assists, and in 33 appearances this season, he scored 11 goals and provided eight assists, coming out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.72 and 1.83 games, respectively.
Finally, and this is rather difficult to prove with statistics, but just like the Englishman was, the former PSG gem is capable of some utterly sublime bits of skill and has scored more than his fair share of brilliant goals for Leipzig and PSV.
Ultimately, Spurs have been crying out for another young talent to come in and have the sort of effect Dele did when he first joined almost a decade ago, and while he’s a little older, Simons could be just that player.
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1 ByJack Salveson HolmesMay 27, 2025