Graham Souness defends Dele Alli's horror tackle and urges the Tottenham youngster to retain his mean streak

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Graham Souness has controversially suggested that the horrific tackle which saw Dele Alli sent off during Tottenham’s Europa League match against Gent is part of what will make him one of the best players in the world.

Alli saw red for a studs up lunge on Brecht Dejaegere which left the Belgian bleeding heavily and hobbling for the rest of the match. Spurs drew the match 2-2 which saw them crash out of the Europa League 3-2 on aggregate.

The 20-year-old midfielder was widely condemned for the tackle, but Souness has defended the ‘devil’ in the player because he believes it is what will make Alli a player in the calibre of Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale.

“It was a nasty and unnecessary tackle, born out of frustration,” the former Liverpool and Newcastle manager wrote in his Sunday Times column. “He really snapped into it, intending to leave a bit on the guy, so he got what he deserved with the red card.

“Yet that is also one of the reasons he could become a top player. Alli has a bit of devil in him, an edge that most top players possess.

“As strange as it sounds, if I was his manager, I would be quietly saying to myself: ‘Thank goodness he has got that in him.”

Souness also speculated that Pochettino would have at least been happy to see that Alli cared about the result and that things were not going Tottenham’s way. After the match, Pochettino defended his player, describing Alli as a “special boy” who “was very disappointed and [knew] he made a mistake.”

"Mauricio Pochettino, his manager, will not be happy that he was sent off, but he will be pleased that Alli cares when things are not going well,” Souness continued.

"I've only seen Alli's challenge once but it was a throwback to my own playing days, one you see less and less now. The ball got away from him and he thought: 'Have some of that because the game's not going my way.’

"He lost his discipline for a second, but the vast majority of players don't have that nastiness in their make-up. That's why part of me gets why he did it."

Alli has also been defended by the victim of his reckless foul, Dejaegere, who revealed after the match that a “nice” Alli had apologised to him and that he was sure he didn’t mean to hurt him.

"Dele Alli just said sorry to me and that's nice from him, he's a professional," Dejaegere revealed.

"We're okay, it's football. I saw the images and it could have been much worse. I don't think he meant it because he came to apologise himself."

"I felt it was a really hard tackle but then in the moment, you turn the button and try to focus on the game.”