Free Dele - Former England Star Training With League Two Club in Career Revival Hopes

Free Dele - Former England Star Training With League Two Club in Career Revival Hopes

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli has been training with League Two side Barnet in the hope of reviving a career that once looked destined for greatness.

Aged 30, Alli’s last club was Como 1907, for whom he made just one appearance—and that one match is his only competitive football in the past three years.

Under Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham, Alli went from a promising young midfielder to one of the most exciting players in European football.

A career that started so brightly should never have been allowed to extinguish like this. Alli’s last competitive appearance came for Como on 15 March 2025, when he entered the game as an 81st-minute substitute against AC Milan.

Just ten minutes later, his challenge on Ruben Loftus-Cheek was upgraded from a yellow card to a red, bringing a premature end to his brief appearance.

Those ten minutes were the only football Alli played for Como. They also remain the only minutes of professional first-team football he has played in the past three seasons.

For a player of his talent, it was never supposed to end like this. The former England star is only gettung older, and the prospect of returning to the biggest stages of European football or the international scene now feels increasingly remote.

Alli to Barnet?

Speaking to TalkSport, Barnet manager Darren Brennan said “the doors are open” to train with his side following Alli using the club's training facilities.

“He’s a serious footballer and he’s going through a real tough time,” Brennan said.

“There’s obviously some kind of issue why people haven’t taken him on.

“If I do a Harry Redknapp and pull him back in, like (Paolo) Di Canio (who signed for West Ham United in 1999 and had not played since receiving an 11-game ban for pushing referee Paul Alcock), no issue whatsoever. Everyone deserves a second chance in life.

“At our football club we have lots of lads that train with us that are out of contract and if Dele wants to come train with us the doors are open. He can use us to get fit and train with the group.”

Deano, get stretching… those 26.2 miles won’t run themselves! 🏃‍♂️😂

Over to you, @dele_official 👀🐝 https://t.co/qyOIRGsBJ1 pic.twitter.com/V3fyFgRIp1

— Barnet FC 🐝 (@BarnetFC) September 24, 2026

The past four years have been frustrating for Alli. Since leaving Tottenham Hotspur in 2022, he has managed just 29 appearances for Everton, Besiktas and Como.

Alli’s decline cannot simply be measured in appearances. Away from the pitch, he has faced his own battles, and the former England international has spoken openly about his struggles with criticism, addiction, and personal trauma. His 2023 interview with Gary Neville remains one of the most emotional moments of his career, offering a rare insight into the difficulties that have accompanied his fall from the top.

Barnet currently sit two points clear at the top of League Two, having not lost any of their seven opening games. The side returned to the English Football League last season after seven years in the Conference.

“Our facilities are available to rent,” Brennan added.

“We don’t live in Disneyland down at our level so our lads have to pay their bills, pay their mortgage and we don’t get 10,000, 20,000 (fans) a game. There’s only a couple thousand we get. “So renting our facilities out was part of the business process at our place and it looks like Dele’s done just that.”