Dele Alli to remain with Tottenham after PSG talks break down
By Tom Gott
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli will remain at the club beyond the closure of the transfer window after Paris Saint-Germain pulled out of negotiations.
Dele has tumbled down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho, managing just 74 minutes of Premier League action this season, and it was confirmed to 90min that he had urged Spurs to let him reunite with Mauricio Pochettino at PSG.
Spurs were prepared to do business, but only if PSG covered the entire cost of the loan and did not insert an option to buy in the deal. According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, the two sides have continued to butt heads, and an agreement has not been reached.
Club chairman Daniel Levy was hoping to find a replacement for Dele before granting him his wish of leaving. Inter's Christian Eriksen was identified as a dream signing, but signing the Dane was never financially possible, and Levy was not prepared to sanction Dele's departure as a result. As noted by Fabrizio Romano, this deal is dead in the water.
Negotiations dragged on, despite PSG warning Spurs that they would not be made to wait until late in the transfer window, but talks have now collapsed and Dele will now remain at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for at least the next six months.
It's a decision which likely won't sit well with Dele, who fears his career is being wasted on the fringes at Spurs.
The 24-year-old had harboured hopes of impressing in Paris and earning himself a spot in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the European Championships this summer, but chances of a call-up now look as slim as ever.
Levy has always made it clear that he is a huge believer in Dele's potential and therefore does not want to see the Englishman leave permanently, whereas Mourinho has always stressed that his future remains 'open'.
It's a situation in which nobody wins. Dele will be frustrated in the cold, Mourinho has to deal with an unhappy player and Levy must watch as his asset depreciates in value as the season progresses.
It's obviously possible that Mourinho could welcome Dele back to the first-team fold before the end of the season, particularly with the rest of his squad failing to impress as of late, but things really aren't looking good for the player's long-term future in north London.