Everton’s aspirations to waive a £10 million fee for Dele Alli may be dashed after they attributed responsibility to Tottenham for their points deduction.
Dele Alli made a free transfer to Everton from Tottenham in January 2022, concluding his seven-year tenure in North London.
As part of the agreement, Everton committed to paying Spurs £10 million once the English midfielder reached 20 appearances, and he is currently seven games away from that milestone.
According to the Daily Mail, Everton engaged in discussions with Spurs last month regarding a potential reevaluation of the Alli deal.
Given Everton’s existing financial challenges, paying the fee in full would be challenging, and Tottenham appeared open to a resolution that would be mutually beneficial.
However, the report also indicates that Spurs reacted strongly to Everton’s assertion in the 41-page written judgment released by the Premier League last week concerning Richarlison’s transfer to Everton in the summer of 2022.
Everton contends that Daniel Levy’s reluctance to spend £80 million ($100 million) on the Brazilian forward resulted in their points deduction for violating the Premier League’s financial regulations.
The Toffees ended up settling for a fee that was £20m ($25m) short of their original valuation, which the club says was “directly attributable to PSR calculation difficulties”.
The Mail states that Spurs find the accusation against their chairman ‘absurd’ and it has been suggested that the relationship between the two clubs has been damaged beyond repair.
Despite Everton’s efforts to leverage the Richarlison deal as a mitigating factor for their excessive spending, the independent commission ultimately rejected this appeal, leaving Dele Alli in a state of uncertainty.
The 27-year-old midfielder has been sidelined from competitive football since sustaining an injury while on loan at Besiktas in February.
Everton’s manager, Sean Dyche, has kept the possibility open for Dele to rejoin the team contingent upon proving his fitness.
However, the former England international has not only been contending with physical injuries but also grappling with mental health issues outside of the playing field.
The timeline for his return to action remains unclear.