In one of his first meetings with Daniel Levy, Jose Mourinho revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson had advised him to sign Dele Alli while he was in charge of Manchester United as shown on Amazon’s All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur documentary.
The first episode of the highly-anticipated nine-part series revolves around Mourinho’s blockbuster arrival in November a matter of hours after former manager Mauricio Pochettino had paid the price for the team’s slow start to the 2019-20 season.
Watching Mourinho during his first hours and days in charge of Spurs unsurprisingly makes for captivating viewing. One of his first acts as boss is to make a beeline for Harry Kane in his first training session to schedule a one-on-one meeting in his office the following day in which he outlines his plan to make the England captain a “movie star” player just like he is as a coach. “The reality is that my dimension is universal,” he explains.
There are other interesting titbits in the opening 45 minutes of the series with Levy revealing the decision to sack Pochettino was the “most emotional” he’d ever had to make and Mourinho comically responding to a radio phone-in caller saying he is past his best by emerging from his desk, muttering at said caller to “f__k off” and turning his television set off in disgust.
But it is Mourinho’s revelation to Levy about Dele that is the most absorbing aspect of the first episode.
After Levy comes into his office to enquire about that day’s training session ahead of Mourinho’s first match in charge against West Ham, the Spurs boss says: “I told Dele very directly that he doesn’t train well, he’s not a good trainer. I’m not saying he’s a disaster but I’m not saying he’s Harry Kane. Harry Kane trains well.”
[Levy]: “He’s not even with England [squad]…”
[Mourinho]: “Euros in six months…”
[Levy]: “Two years ago he was here [raises a hand up to the sky].”
[Mourinho]: “Sir Alex Ferguson gave me only one advice in two and a half years [at Manchester United], buy Dele Alli.”
Levy’s response to Mourinho – a chuckle and more than a hint of an eye roll – offered a chink of insight into how difficult the Spurs chairman can be to deal with. Between 1997-2008, United signed three of Tottenham’s best players: Teddy Sheringham, Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov. Since then, despite links to Gareth Bale, Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane, among others, they haven’t signed any.
Mourinho continues, paraphrasing Ferguson: “That guy with that mentality, the way he plays with that aggression he has in his mind, this guy is a Manchester United guy. Buy Dele Alli. And he [Ferguson] has an eye for players.”
The scene ends with Mourinho returning to what started the conversation off in the first place: “He’s not a good trainer, we need to find the right motivation for the guy.” It is a message that Mourinho repeats, albeit with more force, in Tottenham’s pre-match team meeting when he says to Alli in front of his teammates: “I understood already that you are a f______g lazy guy in training”. Cue nervous laughter from Alli and others in the room.
One of Mourinho’s first projects at Spurs was to help Dele rediscover his top form. “I asked him if he was Dele or Dele’s brother?” quipped Mourinho a few days after joining, before Dele went on a storming run of form, scoring four goals and providing three assists in his first seven Premier League appearances under the Portuguese.
Similarly to recent campaigns though, Dele’s form tailed off, initially due to a change of role which saw him redeployed as a centre-forward after Kane and Son Heung-min had suffered serious injuries, before fitness issues of his own hampered his performances after the Premier League’s project restart in June.
Dele stats and records
Tottenham appearances: 222
Tottenham goals: 62
Awards: PFA Young Player of the Year x2 (2015-16, 2016-17)
Dele features prominently in the second episode too. Shortly after discussing the pressures associated with representing Spurs and England as a young player in the social media age, the documentary cuts to him having a meeting with Mourinho in his office.
“For me, since the beginning, I have no doubts about your potential,” Mourinho says. “I’ve seen you do incredible matches and incredible things, but I always felt that you had ups and downs. There is a huge difference between a player who keeps consistency and a player that has moments and that is what makes the difference between a top, top player and a player with a top potential.”
At one stage, Dele, along with Kane, was Tottenham’s most valuable asset, yet he faces a fight to regain his place in the side next term after Mourinho named the same six midfielders and attackers in the last six league games of the campaign.
Mourinho will be hoping that the 24-year-old can rise to the challenge and showcase the form that piqued Sir Alex Ferguson’s interest a few years ago.
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