Dele Alli has been offered the chance to ditch football and take up bowling in an eye-catching career change. His revival at Italian club Como 1907 has lasted only 10 minutes, despite having signed from Everton last January.
Despite Dele’s recent misfortune, Lane7 bowling has named a lane ‘Dele Alley’ in his honour at their Milton Keynes venue. Recently named the most popular person from Milton Keynes, the England international has had the branch’s lane No. 8 named after him, in reference to his shirt number at Como. The move includes unique balls printed with Dele’s face, in addition to a personalised bowling shirt. Lane7 have even offered the 29-year-old a future professional career.
Gavin Hughes, Managing Director of Lane7: “Dele Alli is a hero to Milton Keynes. His time at MK Dons, Tottenham and England saw his status rise, so much so that he deserves a bowling alley named in his honour. And we couldn’t be prouder of our Dele ‘Alley’.
“Whilst we don’t have the power to rename a road, a lane we can very much do! We look forward to seeing our fans bowl their hearts out, and if he wants a go, we’ll offer him a lifetime free bowling! We’d love to have him bowl on his own Alley!”
Dele has played only nine minutes since arriving in Italy in January. A long-awaited return to the pitch after two years ended in misery as he was sent off on his Como debut in a Serie A clash with AC Milan.
He remained on the bench for the remainder of the season and his future is in limbo. Dele has a year remaining on the 18-month contract he signed earlier this year.
Another tough spell comes after the midfielder struggled at Everton. Initially signed by Frank Lampard, the 37-cap international fell out of favour under Sean Dyche after Lampard was dismissed. Dele made only 13 appearances for the Toffees and failed to make an impact on loan at Besiktas.
It is a far cry from the remarkable impact Dele made at Tottenham earlier in his career. He scored 67 goals in 269 appearances for the North Londoners, forming an excellent relationship with the likes of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen as Spurs challenged for Premier League titles.