Dele Alli is close to leaving English football, aged 26, and it's sad to see

Dele Alli is 'close' to joining Besiktas, either on loan with an option to buy at the end of this season or permanently.

The midfielder moved to Everton from Tottenham Hotspur on an initial free transfer in January after seeing his career stagnate in north London.

Everton would have to pay Spurs once Dele had made a certain number of appearances and bonuses could've taken the deal up to £40 million.

Dele has struggled at Goodison Park however and the England international still has just one Premier League start for the club to his name.

Fabrizio Romano reports Turkish outfit Besiktas are 'really pushing' to sign the 26-year-old, who sees game time as a 'priority'.

Everton are leaving it to the player to decide what is best for his career.

Dele was regarded as one of Europe's brightest prospects when he first arrived at Spurs from MK Dons in 2015.

He quickly established himself as a first-team regular under Mauricio Pochettino and won PFA Young Player of the Year after 23 goals in his debut campaign.

That same year, he made his England debut and became a staple of the national side.

He's made 39 appearances for the Three Lions but last represented them in 2019.

Interestingly, Pochettino was sacked that year and replaced with Jose Mourinho, who famously delivered a number of hard truths to Dele.

He failed to regain a starting spot under Mourinho or successors Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, with the latter deciding it was time to move him on last winter.

Everton manager Frank Lampard took a punt on Dele and recently admitted he needs hard training to get back to his best.

The Toffees boss explained: "The first thing Dele needs to do is find consistency in his training, and that is something I have spoken about. For me, full pelt in training is non-negotiable, and I think Dele needs, needed, to understand that is important for me and for him."

Besiktas are 16 time Turkish Super Lig champions, but won't be in any European competition this year after an underwhelming sixth place finish in 21/22.

Everton, meanwhile, are currently 18th in the Premier League after losses to Chelsea and Aston Villa.