The 19-year-old midfield sensation, Deli Alli, expressed his wish to join the Merseyside club, Liverpool. Alli was a Liverpool fan since childhood and always desired playing for the Reds. However, things didn’t work out for him as he was signed by Tottenham Hotspur from MK Dons in the summer for a fee of £5 million.
But it is believed that even while Tottenham was eyeing the English player, Liverpool too were interested in Alli. However there was no deal offered by Liverpool as the Reds were unsure on their decision of signing the youngster. Liverpool had been scouting Alli with a motive of signing him in the summer but didn’t go ahead with the move as the club’s transfer committee wasn’t sure if the player was worth the money.
Brendan Rodgers often kept close tabs on Alli during his spell at MK Dons where the coaches claimed Alli to be a splendid player and often compared him with the former Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard. Delle himself is a massive fan of Gerrard and idolizes the former captain, Alli says.
“I remember Istanbul, the FA Cup final, and the game against Olympiakos: Gerrard just scoring amazing goals. Gerrard was a big influence on why I supported Liverpool.”
Rodgers was keen to sign Alli, but the club’s transfer committee was reluctant. Scouts often updated Liverpool ex-boss Rodgers about Alli’s form and when the negotiations began, the add-ons and fee kept on increasing. The Reds believed that Alli was still too young and needed at least a year more of experience. Eventually, no deal was made by Liverpool and Spurs succeeded in signing the player. However, Alli was loaned back to MK Dons for the rest of the season, then.
Alli has proved to be a great buy for his club as the youngster is proving his worth. His form has been good at Tottenham and has always put up a satisfactory performance. The lad went on to score against France on his first full international debut on Tuesday. Alli has been a terrific player and Liverpool would possibly be regretting not sealing the deal for him in 2015.