Dele Alli 'baffled' by accusation that Besiktas couldn't reach ex-Tottenham star

23 March 2023 , 16:05

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Besiktas midfielder Dele Alli

Former Tottenham ace Dele Alli has admitted he has been left baffled by the claims made by his Besiktas manager Senol Gunes who said the club "could not reach him".

The ex-England international has endured a torrid time of it out in Turkey and was recently accused by his manager of not returning to training when he was expected to. Quick to try and quash talk of Dele deliberately going AWOL, the ex- Everton man took to social media to try and clear up some of the rumours.

"Hey guys just had loads of messages so wanted to clear something up," Dele wrote. "The club gave me permission to attend a doctor's appointment today. I'm due back in training tomorrow as normal."

Sky Sports have now reported that Dele returned to London for a doctor's appointment which had already been sanctioned by the club. He has since returned to Turkey and intends to train despite being told he is no longer in the manager's plans.

Dele is unlikely to have been happy with the fact he felt compelled to take the matter public, but it was actually manager Gunes who opted to air this dispute in full glare of fans and media first.

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The Besiktas boss told reporters. prior to Dele's Instagram update: "We gave Dele Alli permission for a small break, he hasn't come back yet. It's raining, that's probably why he didn't come. We're trying to find out where he is."

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Dele Alli has endured a torrid time of it at Besiktas

Dele is only at the Turkish giants on a season-long loan from Premier League outfit Everton, after his switch to Goodison Park from north London failed to inspire a significant upturn in form or fortunes.

Things have hardly fared better at Besiktas, where the former Three Lions star has just two goals in 13 appearances. Initially brought in by Valerin ismael, current boss Gunes doesn't seem to think as highly of Dele and has played him just four times since he was appointed in October.

Recent reports in Turkey have claimed that Dele has run out of chances under Gunes and is therefore unlikely to feature for the club again. As a result, speculation has started over whether the Toffees could look to recall the 26-year-old before the end of the campaign.

Sean Dyche recently took the reins at Goodison Park and commented on Dele's situation, even admitting Everton could bring the midfielder back to Merseyside earlier than expected.

"I’ll wait until the international break, because the news is suggesting that he’s not going to be involved there," Dyche conceded.

"We’ll have to wait and see and judge things in the summer now, when we all get back together. Because I’m pretty sure that he’s contracted until the end of the season there [Besiktas], so we’ll pick that up during the international break."

Josh O'Brien