Jose Mourinho suggests Dele Alli is not 'fighting' and unhappy at Tottenham

Jose Mourinho appeared to suggest that Delle Alli is not "fighting" amid talk the Tottenham misfit could reunite with Mauricio Pochettino.

Alli has been linked with January transfer window move, having started just one Premier League game for Spurs this season.

And speculation is rampant he could join Pochettino's Paris-Saint Germain side on loan for the rest of the campaign.

The 24-year-old took to Instagram in midweek to post a picture of himself looking disillusioned after Tottenham's draw with Fulham, for which he was an unused sub for the third game in a row.

And Mourinho was asked about the attacking midfielder's future ahead of Tottenham's trip to face Sheffield United.

Asked whether Alli was frustrated with his lack of game time, the Spurs boss said "unhappy" players fell into two categories - those who continued to work hard and those who did not.

And he appeared to intimate that Alli fell into the latter category.

“In every dressing room are unhappy players,” Mourinho said. “For sure. If any one of us, of my tribe, tells you that in his dressing room are only happy players, I don’t think it’s true. Or somebody is so so lucky to have a miracle in his hands.

“Then you can have [an] unhappy professional and the unhappy professional is the one that is unhappy but feels that his duty is to work, work, work and work.

"And there is the unhappy player that believes that it’s not his job to fight and to work every minute for the squad and for the club.”

Mourinho has said several times that he will not Harry Winks leave this month - amid interest from Valencia in the midfielder, another player who has struggled for game time.

But when asked about Alli, the manager has tended to deflect the question - fuelling speculation that the former England star may be allowed to leave on loan.

Mourinho did make it clear that he would have have a replacement lined up for Alli this month if he was to let him join another club.

And he hinted that he might have more information on that in the coming days and weeks.

“The question is if I let Dele go without getting a player in exchange and I’m not going to answer that,” Mourinho said.

“It’s not a question that I am comfortable to answer. Of course, I would know how to answer.

"But I am not ready to answer. I am not ready to make public my vision of the situation.”

Tottenham visit Bramall Lane on Sunday (2pm) looking to improve on a run of just win in their last six Premier League games.