Dele transfer disaster leaves Everton with another heavy liability

Following his failed loan spell in Turkey with Besiktas, Dele Alli is on his way back to England with his future at Everton still very much in doubt.

The former Tottenham and England star is also injured and will likely miss the rest of the season as he faces extended medical treatment in the UK.

Dele’s signing couldn’t be considered anything other than a total failure since the 27-year-old joined Everton on the last day of January 2022, when former manager Frank Lampard brought him in with hours left of that month’s transfer window.

His move to Merseyside was a last-ditch attempt to try and revive his flagging career, which was going nowhere fast in North London with claims he had lost his hunger for the game and was too distracted by life in the capital.

But, he made only a handful of appearances for the Blues’ after signing and apart from one cameo late last season, he made almost no positive impact either.

That was though in a game which proved critical to the club’s future, as the Toffees’ came back just under a year ago from two goals down to defeat Crystal Palace 3-2 and ensure Premier League survival, for another season at least.

Dele came on and proved a key player in helping turn the match around. However, despite that excellent second half performance against Palace, he delivered nothing much else for his new club and was eventually packed off to Turkey on loan.

That move though has been a disaster as Dele has been a total flop there too. Things became so bad that Besiktas were ready to be shot of him as soon as possible.

Now his injury problems have provided them with the excuse to cut short his loan spell and he is returning to Everton.

Dele returns to Finch Farm with a new manager at the Toffees’ in Sean Dyche and he has been talking about what the future might hold for the player.

Dyche made it clear that the midfielder needs to take control of his situation once he has recovered from the hip injury he has suffered.

In truth, Dele doesn’t seem the type of footballer that Dyche would be particularly keen on considering that he isn’t known for his work ethic and focus on the team rather than himself.

So, does he have a future at Goodison Park?

Despite his failures, Dele still has a year left on his contract with the Blues’ and so the club have to continue paying his salary until then.

At his best, a rejuvinated Dele could offer the sort of creativity and goal threat that this Everton team is so badly in need of in their latest fight against relegation.

But, it doesn’t seem very likely that he can rediscover that past form even when he is recovered, which at one point made him one of the most coveted young players in Europe.

The Blues’ have managed to ensure they don’t have to pay an additional installment of the fee to Spurs’ unless Dele plays a certain number of games. That at least is something.

However, in truth this transfer is yet another example of the calamitous signings and spendings that have characterised Everton’s policy under one manager after another for so many years now.