Everton: Rarely-seen 37-cap ace tipped for minutes in relegation fight

Everton manager Frank Lampard will not leave Dele Alli out of his team in the coming weeks to prevent the Toffees from paying a fee for the midfielder, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

Alli arrived at Goodison Park on deadline day in January, but he has failed to make a significant impact on Merseyside so far.

Alli has made six appearances for Lampard’s men since switching Tottenham for Everton, yet he has not started a single game at this point.

Lampard has struggled to find a position in his team for Alli, and has preferred the likes of Donny van de Beek and Anthony Gordon in recent weeks instead.

It is understood that Alli could end up costing Everton as much as £40m if he performs well at the club. However, the Premier League outfit do not have to pay an initial £10m fee for him until the 25-year-old plays 20 matches for them, and he is still some way from reaching this number of games.

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This bizarre clause in Alli’s contract suggests that Everton could potentially leave him out of the team between now and the end of the season and then look to move him on in the summer so that they don’t have to pay Tottenham a penny for his services.

However, Jones does not expect this to happen, and he has hinted that Lampard could look to use the 37-cap international more regularly in the near future.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about Alli’s situation, Jones said: “I don’t think they’re going to stop him from playing just so that they don’t have to pay any money.”

Everton have lost five of their seven league matches since Alli joined the club, with the attacking midfielder only playing a bit-part role over the last couple of months.

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