Ryan Reynolds eyes Alli transfer as Wrexham in three-way tussle for free agent

Dele Alli is looking for a new club after his contract was mutually terminated by Como last week, and Wrexham are reportedly interested in signing the former Tottenham star

Wrexham are reportedly in a tug-of-war with two other Championship teams to sign ex-Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli. The former England international is on the hunt for a new team after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with Como last week.

Dele only managed a single appearance for the Serie A side after joining them on a free transfer in January on an 18-month deal. The 29-year-old was hoping to revive his career after grappling with injuries, addiction problems and mental health issues.

However, his debut turned sour when he was shown a red card just ten minutes after coming on as a substitute during Cesc Fabregas' squad's 2-1 loss to AC Milan at the San Siro in March. Despite once being hailed as one of the Premier League's top talents during his stint at Spurs, he was subsequently sidelined at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.

Dele, who earned 37 caps for England and played his part in getting the national team to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, has seen his career plummet following unsuccessful spells at Everton, Besiktas and most recently at Como. Wrexham, owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, are now reportedly ready to throw him a lifeline.

Championship rivals Birmingham City and West Brom are also said to be keen on securing the services of the free agent, according to the Daily Mail. The Welsh outfit revealed last week that one spot remains available on their 25-man squad list.

After securing promotion from League One in April, Wrexham invested heavily throughout the summer, spending around £33million to bring in 13 fresh faces. Ipswich forward Nathan Broadhead was their most costly acquisition, joining in a club-record transfer potentially worth up to £10m.

The Red Dragons also parted with £6.5m to tempt Coventry midfielder Ben Sheaf to the Racecourse Ground as boss Phil Parkinson sought to assemble a squad ready for second-tier football. Wrexham currently sit 15th in the Championship standings after claiming their first victory of the campaign with a 2-0 win over Millwall at the New Den just before the international break.

Meanwhile, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Dele was exiled from Como's training camp over the summer before Fabregas decided to terminate his contract last week.

A joint statement from Dele and Como said: "Como 1907 and Dele Alli have agreed to a mutual termination of his contract. Dele is keen to secure regular playing opportunities and, as he was not part of the club's immediate plans, both parties felt it was the right decision to part ways ahead of the transfer window closing. The club thanks Dele for his time at Como and wishes him the very best for the future."

There were previously reports that Dele was contemplating hanging up his boots after his disappointing stint at Como, but those claims were later debunked. Last month, Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand hinted that off-pitch issues might have played a part in his unsuccessful Italian adventure.

He said: "I think there's a lot more going on behind the scenes with Dele. I think it will be a nod to looking at players and going, actually, these guys aren't superhuman.

"They are real human beings that do have issues as well, and do have problems. If they're not addressed and they're not helped along the way at times, or they're not open for help, it can lead to situations like we've seen with Dele.

"At one point in his career, people were saying numbers-wise he was doing more than Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes - like ridiculous. The trajectory was like: 'Woof!' He's obviously kind of fallen off a cliff, but the reasons I think are a lot deeper than we see."