"He needs to look at himself..." - Dele Alli given detailed plan to save his career

Dele Alli still has time to turn his career around, so long as he is willing to make a few sacrifices, according to Tim Sherwood.

Alli has returned to Everton after a hugely disappointing loan spell with Besiktas, as the midfielder approaches a crossroads in his career.

His fall from grace has been laid bare for all to see this season, when Besiktas boss Senol Gunes accused the 27-year-old of going AWOL after he failed to report for training.

Alli later rubbished his comments, insisting he had been granted permission by the club to return to England due to an ongoing injury problem.

The Englishman was considered one of his country's brightest talents at Tottenham after he made the £5 million switch from MK Dons to Tottenham, where he contributed 67 goals and 61 assists in 269 appearances between 2015 and 2022.

He has since experienced an almighty decline, with fans left wondering where it all went wrong.

However, former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood reckons he could still make a comeback and get back to his brilliant best.

“I think Dele could still turn it around, I don’t think he’s done," Sherwood said on William Hill podcast Up Front with Simon Jordan.

"He’s still young enough, but he needs someone to talk to and someone needs to talk some sense into him. He hasn’t turned into a bad player overnight, but he’s certainly lost his way."

“Now he needs to realise that he needs to adapt and find a way. He needs to look at himself and say ‘I can still turn this around’, don’t blame anyone else and look at himself and realise that he’s still young enough.

Alli made just 11 appearances for Everton since leaving Tottenham in January 2022 and penning a £100,000 per-week contract with the Toffees.

It remains unclear whether he will be given a second chance at Goodison Park, with Everton boss Sean Dyche hinting that he could still have a future at the club.

Indeed, Dyche could be the man to reinvigorate Alli and be the 'arm around the shoulder figure' Sherwood thinks he needs.

“Dele hit the floor running after he was brought in from MK Dons. He had a manager who wanted to work with him and improve him and he bought into the playing style," Sherwood continued.

“He’s not a number 10 in the way that Dennis Bergkamp or Gianfranco Zola were, he’s more of a Frank Lampard who bursts and arrives in the box and scores goals, and the team played to those strengths.

“I don’t think it’s a case of him needing to find the right club to fit him. I think he really needs to decide in his own mind that he needs to shape himself to be the right person to fit a football club and not just wait for it to happen, because it won’t. I think he’s either not listening or he’s not getting the advice.”