Manchester United failed to take away an all-important lesson from Tottenham’s situation with Dele Alli amid a transfer blow that is a tough pill to swallow now.
Dele Alli made a name for himself at Tottenham and became a key player for former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino during the early part of his spell at the club.
The 29-year-old attacking midfielder, who is now at Serie A side Como, arrived at Premier League side Tottenham in 2015 after he was signed from MK Dons.
Alli had a brief loan spell back at MK Dons before he returned to White Hart Lane — Tottenham’s then stadium — and established himself under Mauricio Pochettino.
The ex-MK Dons star earned high plaudits, including being named the PFA Young Player of the Year twice and making the PFA Team of the Year twice with Spurs.
Alli made 269 appearances for Tottenham during his time at the Premier League club and he netted 67 times and had 59 assists to his name during his spell.
Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham showed Man Utd the key mistake that they made with Dele Alli
Dele Alli’s stunning run of form at Spurs didn’t last forever and the ex-Tottenham star regressed over time, especially under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
The former England international was unable to recapture his magic at Tottenham and Spurs eventually offloaded Alli in 2022 to Everton in a structured transfer deal.
Alli’s move to the Toffees could have reached a £40m transfer fee, but it was entirely dependent on different targets being met during his spell at Spurs.
Spurs showed their mistake with Alli when Mauricio Pochettino, who is the manager of the United States national team, said that his former player was worth £50m.
However, Tottenham never acted on the decision to sell Alli when he was in a rich vein of form and failed to capitalise — and secure — an even heftier fee for him.
“Yes [he is a £50m player], why not? Today, Dele Alli is showing a quality, a talent that it’s difficult to find in Europe at 20 years old,” Pochettino said in 2016, as per Sky Sports.
“There’s no doubt he is and will be one of the best players in England in the next 10, 12 years. And England represents Europe, and maybe the world, too.
“The Premier League is the toughest and best competition in the world, and if you are one of the best in England, you are one of the best in Europe.”
Tottenham’s blunder with Dele Alli has now been repeated by Man Utd with Marcus Rashford
Fast-forward to 2025 and Manchester United are now doing everything in their power to offload Marcus Rashford from Old Trafford in the summer window.
Marcus Rashford was at Aston Villa for the second half of the 2024-25 Premier League season after he lost his place in the starting XI under Ruben Amorim.
Aston Villa turned down the opportunity to make the 27-year-old England international’s move to Villa Park permanent for a £40m transfer fee.
United have seen interest in Rashford this summer, but the Red Devils winger’s wages and £40m price tag is proving to be a stumbling block for the club.
But the Red Devils could have secured a sizeable fee for Rashford had they cashed in on the former Villa forward back in 2024 amid Paris Saint-Germain’s interest.
The Daily Mirror (via ESPN) reported that PSG could offer £75m to United for Rashford as a potential replacement for Kylian Mbappe, who is now at Real Madrid.
Rashford had been in the form of his life at Old Trafford in the 2022-23 campaign under Erik ten Hag and the Barcelona target inked a new deal with the club in 2023.
United missed the opportunity to offload Rashford sooner — much like Tottenham did with Alli — for better value when the player was at the peak of his powers.
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