New Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho says he is going to bring back the “real Dele Alli”.
The Portuguese, who took over at Spurs after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked on Tuesday, said he has spoken to the 23-year-old about his recent dip in form.
“I asked him if he was Dele or Dele’s brother,” Mourinho said ahead of Spurs’ trip to West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.
“He told me he was Dele. ‘OK,’ I said. ‘Play like Dele’.”
England international Alli has struggled with injury and poor performances which have seen him fall out of favour with Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate.
But former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Mourinho says the midfielder has the potential to be a “fantastic player”.
“Now I have to create a tactical situation he is happy with, give him the right dynamics and prepare him physically well because he has had important injuries and he is not on the top of his form,” added Mourinho.
Spurs head to the London Stadium without a win in their past five games and have slipped to 14th in the Premier League, 20 points behind leaders Liverpool after just 12 matches.