Sometimes you just have to get away and change the setting in order to breathe again. There are footballers who spend a decade or more at a club without even thinking of moving – but those are a dying breed. Most players in the modern game need a change from time to time to keep sharp. Dele Alli seems to be one of them.Sunday, 17.00: (3.80) Burnley (3.50) Tottenham (2.10)For a couple of years, Dele hasn’t been performing up to his old standards and has been reduced to no more than a squad player at Tottenham Hotspur. This is why former England striker Darren Bent wants Alli to find another club where he could thrive again. Bent’s words are not hollow because he was once in exactly the same situation at the old White Hart Lane.”I did it, I left Spurs. I needed to go somewhere where I could just solely focus on playing football and for me, Sunderland was the perfect landing spot. The following season I had the best season I ever had, scored 25 goals. But I needed to go somewhere where there was hardly any distractions and I could focus solely on playing football. I think Dele Alli is kind of in that situation where he maybe needs to get himself out of London and just focus on playing football again.”Darren Bent in a Tottenham shirt in 2009 (©AFP)The 25-year-old Dele should be playing regularly – even if it’s not with the club that propelled him to Premier League stardom. A similar move benefited Jesse Lingard last season.”Look at Jesse Lingard; was going stale at Manchester United, goes to West Ham and look at him now. I know he has gone back to not playing, but for those last three months of the season, back in the England squad. That’s exactly what Dele Alli needs to do.”Sunday, 19.30: (1.65) Chelsea (3.90) Man.Utd. (6.00)Alli and Lingard are currently on the fringes of their respective clubs. Perhaps January will be the perfect time for them both to make moves that would benefit their careers.
