Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has heaped praise on Dele Alli and has claimed the midfielder is one of English football's most important young players.
Alli's rise to fame has been remarkably swift considering he joined Spurs back in the summer of 2015.
After impressing in the latter half of last season, the midfielder has become a permanent feature in Pochettino's side and is approaching his best form once again, after netting twice in Tottenham's recent 4-1 hammering of Watford on New Years Day.
.@SpursOfficial determined to keep @Dele_Alli after @realmadrid transfer reports: https://t.co/BImawmfIX4 #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/9p43HM09Xf
At 20 years of age, Alli appears to have a long, successfulcareer ahead of him and his talent has already attracted the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs, who are understood to already be on the hunt for the player's signature.
Speaking ahead of his side's crunch Premier League clash with Chelsea, toSpanish news agency EFE, Pochettino was quick to sing the praises of Alli and suggested that he was already an important player in the English game.
The Spurs' boss said of Alli (as quoted by theIndependent):"He is the most important emergence from English football in recent years.
He is a very determined player, very aggressive in the attacking part of the pitch, and dangerous close to goal. He's got a great mentality and great confidence in himself. He is, without doubt, the most important player to arrive in English football in the last few years.�
Having already scored nine goals so far this season, Alli is likely to better last season's tally of 10 and having foundthe net five times in his last three appearances, the England international will be confident of adding to his tally on Wednesday evening against Chelsea, as Tottenham look to close the 10 point gap between the two sides.