Dele Alli has gone AWOL and ‘isn’t answering the phone’ to Besiktas

Former Tottenham star Dele Alli has gone AWOL in Turkey and isn’t answering the phone to Besiktas – according to the team’s manager Senol Gunes.

The England international has suffered a fall from grace since his glistening years in the Premier League as one of the country’s top talents while at Spurs – having come through the ranks in 2015 – but has suffered a huge decline in the last few years. 

He joined Everton on a free transfer last year but could not rediscover his top form before he was shipped out to Besiktas on loan. 

His season in Turkey has been marred by poor performances and he has failed to impress Gunes – with the midfielder previously expected to return to Everton in the summer. 

But in the latest development in the saga, his manager has now revealed the club are having trouble getting hold of him. 

Dele Alli has reportedly gone AWOL at Besiktas with manager Senol Gunes (right) claiming the club have been unable to reach the player

Alli has endured a difficult season in Turkey and has been banished from the first team squad amid his poor performances

Gunes suggested Alli – who was permitted some time off from training – may not have returned to the club ‘because it’s raining’ – and said he ‘hoped he didn’t have an accident’. 

‘Dele Alli could not come at this time. It’s raining, I guess that’s why he couldn’t come. We’re trying To hear from him . We could not reach you by phone. Hopefully he didn’t have an accident.’

It comes just a week after Alli was banished from the squad and told to watch the remainder of the season from the stands.

Sportsmail reported how Besiktas had opted not to take up the option of signing Alli for £8million amid his disastrous loan spell – with the player being left out of their last two matches after his poor performances.

Alli is a shadow of the player he once was when he was tipped to become a regular fixture in the England squad for years to come

Alli has taken a lot of heat since arriving in Turkey but he has vowed not to give up, claiming that football ‘saved him’

Gunes had slammed Alli back in January, insisting the midfielder ‘doesn’t deserve to play’. 

The Besiktas manager had also publicly criticised the Englishman for his ineffectual performances in November after hauling him off at half-time against Umraniyespor.

‘I couldn’t affect the players [yet], now I can easily get through to them, but we haven’t got through to Dele Alli yet,’ he said. 

‘Let’s not discuss Dele Alli as a player, but he is below expectations in terms of efficiency.’ 

He has featured for just 254 minutes since the start of 2023 and has not played a game since February 26, when he played 45 minutes in a 0-0 draw against Antalyaspor. 

In December he posted on social media vowing not to give up – and claiming that football had ‘saved him’.

In his heyday at Tottenham he scored 22 goals in the 2016-17 and was tipped for big things

‘You saved my life. That’s why I will always love you,’ he wrote, followed by a heart and a football emoji. 

Alli’s recent plight pales in comparison to his heyday at Tottenham – where he scored 22 goals in the 2016-17 season, netting 67 overall in 269 appearances that saw him start the 2019 Champions League final against Liverpool, which Spurs lost 2-0.

But after that season, following the departure of Mauricio Pochettino – the man who introduced him into the first team – the confidence and swagger that Alli had become synonymous began to fade.

He was heavily criticised by Pochettino’s successor Jose Mourinho, who accused him of playing like ‘Dele’s brother’ when he first arrived – and though he enjoyed a slight upturn in form initially, he soon began to falter again. 

Things came to a head in December 2020 when Mourinho claimed Alli had ‘created problems for his own team’ during a League Cup clash against Stoke City, having hauled him off in the second half for contributing to Stoke’s goal in a 3-1 win.