Everton have signed Dele Alli from Tottenham Hotspur in a permanent transfer worth up to £40m.
Alli began his career at MK Dons between 2012-15 where he scored 24 goals in 88 appearances, after spending the latter half of 2014-15 season on loan following a mid-season deadline day move to Spurs for £5m.
The 25 year-old went on to become a prominent player under Mauricio Pochettino until late November 2019 when the Argentinean was replaced by Jose Mourinho, under who Alli slowly fell out of favour and struggled for game time.
Alli though was unable to re-establish himself this season under Nuno Espirito Santo then Antonio Conte, meaning that he ended his time in North London with 67 goals in 269 appearances.
Everton have confirmed that Alli has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract until June 2024 with his transfer fee largely based on various performance clauses, which could see the club pay up to £40m to Spurs in an eventual transfer fee.
Speaking about his decision to move to Goodison Park, Alli said that he was “delighted” to make the switch as he described Everton as “a huge club with a great fanbase and history.”
Alli is cup-tied for this weekend’s FA Cup tie against Brentford so could make his Everton debut away at Newcastle United on Tuesday 8 February live on BT Sport in a 7:45pm kick-off at St James’ Park.
That fact however hasn’t dampened Alli’s enthusiasm to get his time on Merseyside started as he commented: ” I’m eager to get started and can’t wait for my first game in an Everton shirt.
“I’m looking forward to helping the team and the opportunity to work with the new manager Frank Lampard.”
Alli has also been an instrumental player for England with three goals in 37 appearances between 2015 to 2019, yet a lack of game time at Spurs has since seen him fall out of favour with Gareth Southgate.
Alli is Everton’s third permanent signing of the 2021-22 mid-season transfer window following early signings of Vitaliy Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson, whilst Anwar El Ghazi and Donny van de Beek both joined on loan.
Everton also appointed Lampard as their new manager on Deadline Day following Rafael Benitez’s sacking in mid-January.
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