Frank Lampard torches Stan Collymore claims as he flatly refutes Dele Alli retirement jibe

Everton manager Frank Lampard has hit back at Stan Collymore over his suggestion that Dele Alli should retire if his move to Goodison Park continues to see him failing to return to his former glories.

Dele, 25, moved to Merseyside in January after finally escaping from his Tottenham struggles. He will have been hoping that a move to a new club could regenerate a career that has been badly stalling for some time now. Indeed, he made just 10 Premier League appearances for Tottenham this season prior to the move. And he’s spent most of that time sat on their bench.

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That said, his decline started some time before this season. To that end, Dele often came in for strong criticism from former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho.

And for a player who in the 2016/17 season scored 22 times in 50 games, it’s been a downward spiral ever since.

It was hoped the move to Everton would result in an instant upturn.

Alli was excited to get the chance to play under one of the greatest midfielders of his generation in Lampard.

However, the move is yet to go to plan., with Dele yet to complete 90 minutes for the Toffees. Furthermore, he is yet to have any goal contributions in his six appearances to date.

Such has been his struggles that pundit Collymore made the outlandish claim that Dele may have to