When Gareth Bale to Tottenham Hotspur pushed itself to the front of the transfer agenda this week, it came with claims of Dele Alli going the other way.
The midfielder hasn’t enjoyed his best period under Jose Mourinho, and the idea was Alli would go to Real Madrid on loan for a season, with Bale going the other way.
AS have gone some way to completely dismissing the idea of this happening. They say the claims were ‘immediately rejected’ by those at the ‘highest levels’ at Madrid.
Signing Alli and paying his full wages would have meant using much of the money saved from ridding themselves of a percentage of Gareth Bale’s salary, and that doesn’t fit in with the club’s plan of budget reduction this summer.
Zinedine Zidane was ‘amused’ by the claims, with AS saying he’s not a great fan of Alli, having been irritated by some of the player’s comments following Tottenham’s victory over Real Madrid in the 2017/18 Champions League campaign.
On top of all of that, it’s suggested Alli’s starring role in the All or Nothing programme makes him even less suitable for Zidane and Madrid. The manager wants players who are determined to improve on their own, without needing constant reminders from the manager.
