Jose Mourinho believes Dele Alli is good enough to be a future Ballon d'Or winner but warned of more “ups and downs” from the 23-year-old in the short term.
Asked if Alli could win the Ballon d'Or in the future, Mourinho said: “He can do anything he wants.
“He has the talent, he's the right age, has the right experience at the highest level — playing in the Champions League, playing for the national team in the biggest competitions. He has everything. It is just a question about motivation every day.”
“Dele is younger than that, he is not as mature as that yet. Amazing potential, again we are going to try and develop this talent to be consistent and be great for club and national team. That is what we are going to do.
"He wants, clearly he wants, and we are going to try and give everything to reach this level. Ups and downs will always happen, especially with younger people. So when the ups are there we need balance, when the downs appear we need also balance.”