Dele Alli: Tottenham star hailed by former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard

'There is so much to like about the way he plays the game'

(Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli grew up with former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard as his hero.

Now, the former has been praised by the latter as Spurs, in the hunt for the title, head to Anfield to face the Reds in a crucial Premier League clash.

Alli was long linked with a move to Liverpool but eventually talks broke down as the Reds looked to negotiate a cheaper deal. Spurs eventually paid MK Dons £5million for the teenager and Alli has been a revelation for both Mauricio Pochettino's side and for England - his performances against Germany and the Netherlands may have seen the 19-year-old force his way into the starting XI for Euro 2016.


 Steven Gerrard was Dele Alli's boyhood hero 
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"A few years ago Karl Robinson, the MK Dons manager who I know from our Liverpool youth days, was telling everyone all about Alli and how every top club in the Premier League should have been looking to take him," wrote Gerrard in his column for the Daily Telegraph.

"I was reading Karl’s assessments and it’s fair to say he was spot on. Without watching him week in, week out, I’ve taken an interest in Alli's career since he was in League One, and I'm seriously impressed by his progress for Tottenham and England this season."

He added: "There is so much to like about how he plays the game.

"He has technique and attitude. It’s not just his skill I admire, but his temperament. I like his football arrogance where he absorbs every challenge and gets on the ball as if he belongs on the biggest of stages.

"And I like that touch of nastiness he has – not in a bad way – but where he is not going to be intimidated on the pitch but will bully opponents rather than let himself be bullied."