Tottenham Hotspur's new starlet Dele Alli has explained his reasons for turning down a move to Liverpool in 2014, to continue his career at White Hart Lane.

The 19-year-old switched to North London club in the January transfer window but was loaned back to League One side Milton Keynes Dons for the remaining six months of the 2014-15 season.

Was turning down Liverpool the right decision?

Alli was among the best young players in English football prior to moving to Tottenham, with Liverpool having been interested in him since joining the club. He admitted he "didn't feel [Liverpool] was the right move personally", and that his wish was to remain "at MK a bit longer" in order to gain some more first-team experience. He feels that the extra experience that it would make him "ready to move".

Alli came through the side from Milton Keynes' academy before becoming a key member of their first team, who won promotion to the Championship last season after a series of near-misses in recent years.

Can Alli work his way into the first team?

However, he is joining a Spurs squad that has a huge depth of midfield options including fellow talented youngsters Nabil Bentaleb, Ryan Mason and Tom Carroll, as well as the more experienced Benjamin Stambouli and Mousa Dembele. That means Alli is likely to find himself down the pecking order come the start of the season, as Mauricio Pochettino will be likely to favour the aforementioned quintet ahead of the 19-year-old.

But the ex-Dons youngster is not willing to leave and move out on loan next season, even if his opportunities are few and far between.

"I'm really excited to be working with Pochettino," he admitted. After meeting the entire squad, Alli said he is "looking forward to working with them" and then hopefully joining them for some Premier League actionHe concluded by saying "It's every boy's dream", and that he is eager to get started with his new challenge.

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About the author
Roberto Rojas
Writing about the beautiful game. Cohost of the @LowLimitFutbol Podcast.