Dele Alli is one of the hottest properties in English football and his rise up the ranks at Tottenham is nothing short of a fairy-tale. The former MK Dons player has become a regular for the Lilywhites but before he signed up for the London club, it was Liverpool that was in the driving seat for the attacking midfielder.
The Reds were expected to sign the player up in 2014 and even former manager Brendan Rodgers had stated that the club was in contract with Karl Robinson of the Dons. But the deal did not materialise as expected and Alli even had a chance to meet Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard but the young football has revealed Gerrard was asleep at the time.
As quoted by Liverpool Echo, Alli told Football Focus:
“At the time when I was at MK there was contact with Liverpool before I signed for Tottenham, but that was before we’d even spoke to Tottenham.
“I think it was six months before.
“We went up there and I think they knew that Steven Gerrard was my hero, so they said he was going to come down to meet me, but when I got there he was asleep apparently.
“I think he had a game the next day though so I understand.”
A missed opportunity for the Reds
Alli certainly has gone from strength to strength since moving to Spurs for a paltry sum of £5million in January 2015. The English international has scored 13 goals since joining the London club and also won the PFA Young Player of the Year during the 2015-16 season.
Looking back, this does seem like one talent that Liverpool missed out on but it is tough to say where Dele Alli would have ended up playing under Jurgen Klopp. Rodgers might have found a proper use for Alli and with Raheem Sterling at the club too, it certainly has been a great youthful side for the Reds.
For now, the Reds certainly are doing alright and even Alli has been doing pretty good since moving to London. The 20-year-old still has a great future ahead of him and is only getting better with each game. Liverpool already have a lot of great youngsters coming through the side and those players are doing pretty well under Jurgen Klopp.
Ben Woodburn and Trent Alexander-Arnold are just a couple of examples of Liverpool’s youth policy working out and hopefully we will see a number of other youngsters break out under the guidance of Klopp.
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