Dele Alli thanks Mauricio Pochettino in open letter to Spurs fans – but omits to mention Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte

Dele Alli has released a heartfelt farewell statement in which he thanked Mauricio Pochettino for the support he showed him during his career at Tottenham Hotspur – although he does not mention of any of the other three managers he worked under after the Argentine was sacked.

Alli has endured a miserable time at Tottenham over the past few seasons since bursting through under Pochettino and in an interview following his deadline day move to Everton he also admits “I just want to be happy playing football” and hopes to revive his career under Frank Lampard.

In his statement, published on social media, the 25-year-old claimed he “had an incredible seven years at Tottenham” – he joined from MK Dons for £5 million in 2015 – although he has become an increasingly peripheral figure and was frozen out by head coach Antonio Conte last month.

Pochettino’s successor, Jose Mourinho, who took over in 2019, and Nuno Espirito Santo all struggled to get the best out of Alli whose career has appeared in decline since the 2018 World Cup where he was a key member of the England team that reached the semi-finals.

Alli has been desperate to leave Spurs for some time and was denied the chance last year to reunite with Pochettino at Paris St-Germain, who had also tried to get him on loan the previous summer, but finally earned a move to Everton in an extraordinary deal as it is initially a free transfer. Everton will pay £10m but only once Alli plays 20 games having signed a two-and-a-half year deal with further payments after that to take the final fee significantly higher.

“It’s the end of the chapter but not the book…” Alli wrote in his open message. “Thank you all for the messages. I’ve had an incredible seven years at Tottenham and have