Former MK Dons manager Karl Robinson has revealed that he pinned former Tottenham ace Dele Alli “against the wall at times” and how he once “lost it with him.”
Alli burst onto the scene at MK Dons before Tottenham signed him up for a £5m transfer fee, with the former England star initially thriving at Spurs.
The 26-year-old former MK Dons player won back-to-back PFA Young Player of the Year awards and was named in two consecutive PFA Team of the Years during his time with Tottenham.
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Alli’s career has since taken a nightmare turn after his ill-fated move to Everton in 2022, with the ex-Spurs star struggling to revitalise his dwindling playing career.
The Everton flop lasted only six months at Goodison Park before he was loaned out to Turkish side Besiktas, but Alli has struggled to secure regular first-team minutes.
According to reports, Besiktas have no plans to trigger their option to buy Alli and are weighing up the idea of sending him back to Everton after his ill-fated spell.
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Speaking to talkSPORT, Robinson opened up on a confrontation he once had with Alli and how he “lost it with him.”
“If you look at the data, he’s one of the hardest-working, highest distance-covered players playing,” he said.
“I think that his persona can sometimes look flippant. He can look laboured, but he always had that.
“I remember pinning him up against the wall at times. I remember him being dragged [into] a dressing room once by a senior player because he had this look on his face which was a smirk -- I lost it with him and a senior player lost it with him as well.
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“He wasn’t smirking, it was just him. I remember speaking to him after and he said, ‘Gaffer, I wasn’t trying to be rude or disrespectful.’ When you listen to him you go, ‘Oh, okay, I get you a little bit more.’
“The more you’re with him and the more time you spend with him, the more you understand him and the more he is a kind and caring human being.”
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Topics: Dele Alli, Besiktas, Everton, Football, Premier League, England, Turkey, Turkish Super Lig
Adnan Riaz