'Down not up' - Antonio Conte makes Dele Alli claim after move to Everton

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte has said he is not concerned about Dele Alli hurting his former team on Monday - and claims players tend to get worse when they are sold by him.

Everton landed the England international midfielder in January, as he had fallen out of favour at Spurs under managers Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Conte.

It has been a tough spell for the 25-year-old, who was regarded as one of the best young players in world football in his early years at Spurs.

Alli is yet to start a game under new manager Frank Lampard as he builds his fitness in the Everton squad.

It's not expected that he will be in the XI on Monday either, with Donny van de Beek, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure impressing in a midfield trio last time out in the Premier League against Manchester City.

Even so, there will be some Spurs fans worried by their former favourite doing some damage on his first game in opposition colours. But Conte didn't appear too worried when he was asked about Alli ahead of the game, per the Evening Standard.

"I don’t remember a player that when he went away, came back with a great spirit of revenge," said the Italian. "Honestly, I don’t remember one.

"During my coaching, I always try to be honest with the players and give all the players the possibility to show me that they deserve to play. I don’t remember a player that had their revenge with me.

"What happens usually is that when players went away they went down, not up."

Conte was also asked why things didn't work out for Alli at Tottenham.

"It is difficult to say something about this, for sure he is still young and his career is in his hands," he said. "He is very young and he has all the time to take his career again. I really think so.

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