Dele Alli has “everything it takes to be a really, really top player”, according to former Tottenham midfielder Andy Reid.
Still only 20 years of age, the Spurs youngster has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence.
It is easy to forget that Alli is in just his second season as a Premier League performer, having being nurtured through the academy ranks at MK Dons to become a Football League star.
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Despite being a top-flight regular for only 18 months, the all-action playmaker is already an established England international and a key figure at White Hart Lane.
So impressive has he been for club and country that admiring glances are said to have been shot in his direction from Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Reid can see why the Liga giants are interested, but believes Alli has the “perfect” mentor in Mauricio Pochettino and should be focused on further unlocking his talent with Spurs.
Reid, speaking exclusively to 888sport, said: “You would imagine the England team of the future will be built around him.
“He’s got everything you need from a midfielder and really is a special player. He can go up and down the pitch and score goals and has an absolutely fantastic temperament.
“He has everything it takes to be a really, really top player and I hope he stays at Tottenham and develops even more. It’s a good place to be and Pochettino is the perfect manager to help him develop as a player and as a person.”
Alli is not the only leading light at White Hart Lane, though, with Reid of the opinion that Harry Kane – fresh from his hat-trick heroics against West Brom last time out - is capable of breaking the 30-goal barrier for the second time in three seasons.
He said: “[Sergio] Aguero is fantastic but Harry Kane is just lethal at the moment.
“His finishes at the weekend show he’s in a rich vein of form and when he has confidence he puts them in the top corner and doesn’t give keepers a chance.
“In my opinion he can get thirty-plus goals this season.”
Were Kane to reach that target, with Alli providing consistent support, then Tottenham can be expected to sustain another Premier League title challenge.
On that quest, Reid said: “Pochettino is doing a fantastic job and if anybody is going to catch Chelsea I would say that would be Tottenham. I really hope they can and it’s certainly going to be close.
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“I watched the game at the weekend and they were absolutely fantastic: they just brushed West Brom aside and West Brom are playing well right now.
“They played good attacking Tottenham-like football and that’s what the fans like to see. Harry Kane is on fire and [Mousa] Dembele and [Christian] Eriksen are playing really well while they look tight at the back.”