Southgate: Alli is on better path but faces stiff competition for England berth

Gareth Southgate claims Dele Alli has paid the price for a drop in form, after being left out of his England squad to face Montenegro and Kosovo.

Alli has been criticised in recent weeks, with Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness insisting the 23-year-old has “stagnated” as a player and Roy Keane warning he has “lost his hunger”.

But Southgate chose not to add his voice to those concerns, merely stating Alli's performances did not warrant his inclusion compared to other alternatives after returning to fitness following a hamstring injury earlier in the campaign.

“I hope we're always very fair and clear on why we're selecting,” he said. “Dele's back, he's on a better path in the last couple of games, for sure.

England squad in full

“But within those number eight positions, Barkley has played very well for us over the last 12 months, is now scoring for Chelsea and is playing in that position very well.

“Maddison is probably in that sort of area of the pitch, if we're looking at how we want to play. Oxlade-Chamberlain [is] playing exceptionally well and has the athleticism and speed that's different to all of those others.

“It's just a consequence of the competition for places. We watch every game. We think we've got a very, very good picture of all of the players and exactly what they've done in every game and we can only pick honestly on what we've seen.”

Southgate admitted he has not spoken to Alli this time, having omitted him from his September and October squads, but added: “I spoke to Dele in the two previous months and there are only so many times they're going to want to have that conversation really.

“Whenever I don't select a player who has been with us for a period [of time], I always talk them through the rationale of the initial decision and then try to pick it up as we go through.

“Because I think they need feedback — it's important for players. I've done that with Michael Keane this time because they want to go away and improve and try to get back in the squad. And all of those guys are capable of getting back in the squad.”