Why is Dele Alli training at Tottenham?

Midfielder Dele Alli has returned to Tottenham Hotspur to train independently. The 29-year-old has been allowed to use the club's facilities while he improves his fitness and looks to join a new club. Dele has posted clips of him training at the club's academy grounds on his social media platforms. He has been without a club since September 2025, when he left Serie A club Como after his contract was terminated. Dele recently returned to Spurs as a special guest at the north London derby against Arsenal in February. He scored 67 goals over 269 appearances over seven years for Spurs, before leaving in 2022. Dele has played most of his career game time at Spurs, at a total of 19,150 minutes, having previously played a total of 6,514 minutes at MK Dons. Since leaving north London, fitness and form struggles prevented the midfielder from fully establishing himself at Everton or Besiktas. Dele made 13 appearances for the Merseyside team between 2022-2024. playing a total of 369 minutes. He went on loan to Turkish side Besiktas, where he scored three goals in 15 appearances between 2022 and 2023, playing 830 minutes. At Como, he made just one appearance, as an 81st-minute substitute against AC Milan, but was sent off for a challenge on midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Send us your questions Dele is a free agent, and can therefore be signed outside transfer windows. A return to Tottenham is unlikely but not impossible, depending on who the permanent manager of the north London side is in the summer. The club have said that the former Spurs player is training individually, and have not mentioned anything about a trial. This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. Which club has the most red cards in a Premier League season? Which countries are set to win extra Champions League places? How much do teams earn for reaching Champions League knockouts? Premier League: Crystal Palace come from behind to lead 3-1 at 10-man Spurs India beat England in epic semi-final despite Bethell ton Caf postpones Wafcon 2026 just 12 days before kick-off Could we have a four-way title fight as F1 enters a new era? A daughter’s extraordinary act to save her mother What's really going on inside the brains of pregnant women? Join Sara Cox on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Royal Library 'Only one team tried to play' - Hurzeler criticises Arsenal Ten-man Newcastle score late winner to beat Man Utd. Video Ten-man Newcastle score late winner to beat Man Utd Meet GB's first female Paralympic snowboarder Watershed moment as Russia's sporting exile ends Are big-game players keeping Celtic in title hunt? 'Drive to Survive got me into F1 - now I work at Williams' Liverpool top-five failure 'could cost £120m' Why does Scotland lead the way on football headers? Man Utd eye wingers, after getting rid under Amorim All you need to know about new F1 cars 'Fin stole my fly-half spot!' – Atkinson on England's new 10-12 combo Haaland? Kane? R9? Ranking the best centre-forwards this century Key areas for Scotland against champions France Should we have high hopes for Hamilton and Ferrari? F1 Q&A 'I cheated head-injury assessment to play on in 2017 Lions Test' 'I knew the risks, I'd do it again' - Moody opens up in new BBC documentary New era of Formula 1 - what is changing in 2026? 'There were tears - but I had to peek behind curtain of head injuries in rugby' Iran, the US, and a World Cup that starts in three months Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.