Why Liverpool Rejected Chance To Sign Tottenham Hotspur Midfielder Alli

Liverpool passed up the opportunity to sign Dele Alli before he transferred to Tottenham Hotspur two seasons ago because they felt he was too expensive, according to former CEO Ian Ayre.

The Reds had been in pole position for the signature of the former MK Dons talent, with manager Brendan Rodgers holding talks with Alli and Karl Robinson, but a deal never materialized.

“There was interest in the player, but where it got to was that the demands at that time were not fitting to what he had achieved at that point, ” Ayre said at a lecture on Wednesday.

“We didn’t feel the player matched that demand. It’s easy to sit and say ‘look what you could have bought’, but how many players could you apply the reverse of that to? That’s the truth.”

Alli, who joined Spurs for five million pounds, is now rated one of the top talents in the Premier League after two seasons and retained the PFA Young Player of the Year award on Sunday.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : premierleague.com