Dele Alli was 'quiet and sad' claims Mourinho following poor start

  /  autty

Jose Mourinho insists Dele Alli is feeling Tottenham Hotspur's poor start to the Premier League season after cutting a dejected figure in the changing room.

Spurs were outplayed by a vibrant Everton outfit at White Hart Lane to lose 1-0 in their opening game of the campaign.

Alli started the match but made little impact in the first 45 minutes before being replaced at half-time for Moussa Sissoko.

Mourinho admits that while the 24-year-old was unhappy at being replaced he was 'one of many' left feeling the frustration of a laboured performance.

'Dele was quiet, he was sad,' Mourinho said ahead of Tottenham's Europa League qualifier against Lokomotiv Plovdiv. 'After the game, he was just one of many.

'He's a good boy, very, very polite and I never saw from him a strong reaction. A good boy, a really good boy.'

Alli's first-team future is in doubt at White Hart Lane amid reports of a sensational return to the club of fan favourite Gareth Bale on loan.

Mourinho though remained coy on Tottenham's approach to bring the Welsh forward back to the club from Real Madrid where they sold him for a world record £86million fee in 2013 shortly after Mourinho tried to sign him from Spurs while he was in charge at the Bernabeu.

'I tried to sign him for Real Madrid which was not possible to do during my time there,' he added.

'But the president followed my instinct and my knowledge and the season I left he brought Gareth to the club.

'There is no secret on that. Even Gareth knows that. But I'm not going to speak about him anymore because he is a Real Madrid player.'

Related: Tottenham Hotspur Mourinho Alli
Hot comments
Download All Football for more comments