Swansea City urged to swerve "crazy" £0 move for Dele Alli - it's "too much of a risk" | OneFootball

FLW's Swansea City fan pundit has given his verdict on links to Dele Alli's signature

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Swansea City investor Luka Modric has reportedly held talks with Dele Alli in order to convince him to make the move to the Championship side.

Speaking on talkSPORT, journalist Ben Jacobs claimed that discussions have been held over the possible signing of the free agent.

The 29-year-old spent half of last season with Italian top flight side Como, who are managed by Cesc Fabregas, but the former England international made just one appearance in the league - that showing in March was his first appearance in two years on a football pitch, but it may not be his last.

Swansea City urged to avoid Dele Alli signing on a free transfer

When asked about the prospect of signing Dele Alli, FLW’s Swansea fan pundit Will Hughes claimed that it’s not a move worth pursuing given where the player’s career has ended up.

He noted comments made by Jose Mourinho from their time together at Tottenham Hotspur as a warning sign against bringing him to the Championship side.

“Well, the fact that we’ve even been linked with him is crazy, in my opinion,” Hughes told Football League World.

“He was tipped to be the next big thing, top of his game for Spurs, scoring goals, a real flair player and a really good Tottenham team at the time.

“You look at the way his career’s gone now, I’d be honest I probably wouldn’t take a punt, just for that reason.

“Obviously, injuries haven’t helped, he hasn’t really played a lot of football over the last couple of years, it all seemed to go downhill when he left Spurs to go to Everton, but I think back to what Jose Mourinho said in the Tottenham documentary.

“He brought Dele Alli up on it when he was doing well, very well, and Mourinho pulled him up and said ‘this is the problem, you’re too lazy in training, I’m telling you this now because I really do [rate you] very highly, but if you carry on going on doing this route you’re going to regret it in years to come’.

“And he was absolutely spot on.

“Now I’m not sure that’s the reason Dele Alli is in the current situation that he is, but on paper hand-in-hand it goes.”

Swansea City depth in midfield should see Dele Alli deal swerved

Hughes also claimed that Dele Alli would struggle to break into the Swansea midfield, offering another reason why it’s a deal that wouldn’t make sense for the club at this stage.

“So, for me, I wouldn’t take a punt, injury record obviously isn’t great, hasn’t scored many goals, really, since leaving Spurs, hasn’t been played,” Will added.

“I think it’s too much of a risk, and I can’t imagine his wages would be dropped, I can imagine he’d still want a fair pay package to play for us.

“If he was open to a pay as you play option, like Andy Carroll did a few years ago, maybe you could look at it as more feasible for the club.

“But also if he did come in, I really don’t know where he plays, purely for the fact that our strongest midfield three at the moment you’d probably say is [Marko] Stamenic, and then [Goncalo] Franco and [Ethan] Galbraith.

“I don’t think he starts over either of them, and then you can look at the bench.

“You’ve got Malick Yalcouyé, doesn’t play over him, the only one there I’d look at is Melker Widell and you’d probably say that’s a similar position to him, but I feel like Widell would feel hard done by if Alli came in and just took his place, even if it’s just on the bench.”

Swansea City are better off avoiding Dele Alli - his lack of game-time since 2023 is a major concern

Swansea have enjoyed a solid start to the new Championship season under Alan Sheehan, with the side sitting seventh in the table with seven points after the opening four fixtures, and their squad looks well-rounded.

And whilst a few years ago it would've been a coup, the signing of Dele Alli should probably be avoided.

Alli has played nine minutes of league football in two years, so there is no knowing what kind of ability he still has left.

There’s no doubt that at his best he was a top Premier League talent, but he hasn’t displayed the capacity for that in quite a while now.

His possible wage demands could also be offputting, although a pay to play deal could alleviate those concerns if he was open to it.