Everton midfielder Dele Alli appears to have gone AWOL while on loan at Besiktas, with manager Şenol Güneş claiming they are struggling to get in touch with him.
The manager commented on the midfielder today, via Asist Analiz, stating that “we gave permission to Dele Alli, but he could not come. It must be raining, we are trying to hear from him.”
Alli has been on loan with the Turkish side since the summer when he was shipped out by Everton after Frank Lampard made it clear he was not a part of his plans.
He arrived in Turkey to much fanfare but the move has not worked out well for him or Besiktas, who have been keen to get rid of him since January.
That wasn’t possible and they have instead elected to leave him out of the first team for the remainder of the season, with a report earlier this month explaining that he would be spending the rest of the season watching from the sidelines before being sent back to Everton.
That has certainly been the case, with Alli left out of Besiktas squad for the last three games against Ankaragücü, Basaksehir and Istanbulspor.
Hurriyet have more extensive quotes from Güneş on the matter, albeit along the same lines.
“Dele Alli, who we gave permission for earlier, couldn’t come. It’s raining, that’s probably why he couldn’t come. We’re trying to hear from him. We can’t get hold of him by phone. I hope he didn’t have an accident,” they report him saying.
Where the truth is, then, remains to be seen but what is clear is that Alli appears to have gone AWOL, or at least radio silent, in the latest low of his disastrous loan move to Besiktas.
Edit: A couple of hours after Güneş’ press conference, an update emerged in Turkey courtesy of journalist Gökmen Özcan, who claims Alli is expected to attend Besiktas’ training on Thursday at 5pm.
This suggests they have finally managed to get in touch with him, and all appears well.
🚨BİLGİ🚨
Dele Alli, Beşiktaş'ın yarın saat 17.00'deki antrenmanına katılacak.
— Gökmen Özcan (@gokmenozcan) March 22, 2023
