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Tottenham Hotspur's Dele Alli celebrates after scoring in the Premier League game against Manchester City. White Hart Lane, October 2016.

Comparing Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek’s best ever seasons

After a difficult few years, Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek will now be hoping to rediscover their best form at Everton.

Alli joined Tottenham from MK Dons in 2016 and made an immediate impact, winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award in consecutive seasons.

Van de Beek came through the Ajax academy and was a key part of the young side that met Tottenham in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals.

But Alli’s career has stalled in recent seasons and Van de Beek has struggled for regular first-team opportunities since joining Manchester United in 2020.

While the England international joins the Toffees on an initial free transfer, Van de Beek is only on loan until the end of the 2021-22 season.

The duo will both be hoping to learn from Frank Lampard, who has just been appointed as Everton manager and is regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history.

“I played against him when I was at Ajax, and he was at Chelsea [as manager], so he knows me as a player,” Van de Beek said after joining Everton. “He thinks I have qualities that can help the team.

“I can learn a lot from him because he was a little bit in the same position – a midfield player who scored a lot of goals. He can help me a lot, so I think I’m in a good spot.”

Alli and Van de Beek could be competing for a starting spot at Goodison Park and we’ve compared their best ever seasons to see who comes out on top.

Dele Alli (2016-17)

Games: 50
Starts: 46
Sub appearances: 4

Goals: 22
Assists: 9

Penalties scored: 1

Minutes per goal: 182.5
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 191.1
Minutes per goal or assist: 129.5

Key passes per 90 minutes in the league: 1.5
Successful dribbles per 90 minutes in the league: 1.5
Shots per 90 minutes in the league: 2.8

Donny van de Beek (2018-19)

Games: 57
Starts: 47
Sub appearances: 10

Goals: 17
Assists: 13

Penalties scored: 0

Minutes per goal: 242.2
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 242.2
Minutes per goal or assist: 137.3

Key passes per 90 minutes in the league: 1.5
Successful dribbles per 90 minutes in the league: 0.8
Shots per 90 minutes in the league: 1.9


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