Dele Alli slammed by Besiktas boss with scathing remark as career in jeopardy

19 January 2023 , 15:03

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Dele Alli's time at Besiktas has hit a fresh low point (Image: Getty Images)

Dele Alli's miserable spell at Besiktas has hit a fresh low after his manager insisted he "doesn't deserve" to play for the club at this moment in time.

The midfielder joined the Turksish Super Lig club on a season-long loan in August and was greeted by a hero's welcome when he arrived. But his time at the Black Eagles has descended into disaster, with the former Tottenham star struggling for game-time.

Since the Turkish Super Lig returned from the break for the World Cup, Alli has played just one minute of top-flight football, being left on the bench for three of Besiktas' four league games in that period.

The Turkish cup competition, the Tukiye Kupasi, has also offered no respite, with Alli hauled off after 29 minutes of Besiktas' win over Sanliurfaspor in the fifth round. Matters took a turn for the worse on Wednesday in the last 16 clash with MKE Ankaragücü.

Alli was left on the bench for that game, which Besiktas ultimately lost in a penalty shoot-out. And following the game, boss Senol Gunes revealed Alli had work to do to get his way back into the team.

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"Dele Alli has had a good career. But he doesn't deserve to play at the moment. The current situation has not met our expectations as a team," Gunes said after his side's defeat.

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Besiktas boss Senol Gunes has insisted Alli is not deserving of a place in his team (2022 Anadolu Agency)

"We expect him to contribute to the team, but we think he cannot contribute at the moment. We will evaluate it with him and the club. We prepared for the matches with the players here.

"We will make an evaluation by looking at these players in the match on Sunday. We will evaluate if there is a transfer. The transfer will be discussed in this month, as in all teams. I cannot answer this at the moment.

"I wish success to MKE Ankaragücü. We had a trophy goal, we are sorry. It's time for us to stand up. The race continues. We play a match every three days. My players did their best. We have a match on Sunday. The race continues. We are sad that we were eliminated."

Besitkas have not hidden their disappointment in Alli since he arrived at the club. Gunes has previously hit out at the 26-year-old and it was reported earlier this month that the Turkish side were attempting to terminate his loan.

According to BBC Sport, Alli agreed a guaranteed £1.94m for the loan plus a maximum of £8,400 per game. But that deal is providing a major stumbling block to any termination of the loan.

There is still £1.14m to pay off and with no recall option in the deal, Besiktas would be liable for the entire loan fee and the remainder of Alli's wages for the season. Besiktas are next in action on Sunday when they face Kayserispor, with Gunes' side two points adrift of the European qualification places.

Jacob Leeks