Salford City offered Dele Alli a lifeline as former England star remains clubless a year on

Dele Alli has been without a club for a year, and the most recent offer to end that wait came from an unlikely source: Karl Robinson, then manager of League Two side Salford City, who extended a personal invitation after bumping into the former Tottenham midfielder at a gym in June.

Robinson, speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, confirmed he made the approach directly. “I would 100 per cent give him a chance. I saw him in the gym in June, and I told him to come to Salford. But he probably looked at me and went, ‘Gaffer, come on, I’m not doing that.’” Alli never responded to the offer.

Robinson, who was sacked by Salford after they lost the League Two play-off final last season, suggested that Alli’s silence reflects a mindset common among elite players. “The reason these players are these players is because they have a self-belief and a poorly-developed sense of fear. I guarantee if you sit down now, he would probably say he could turn around the fortunes of Man Utd. Because that’s how those real top players who produce their moments of magic think.”

Despite the sympathy in his tone, Robinson was candid about the cost of that outlook. “I don’t know why he is not playing football. This is a tremendous young man. He’s struggled through and rose above it and became the person that he is.”

Alli’s decline from one of English football’s most exciting talents has been well-documented. A two-time PFA Young Player of the Year, he was central to the Tottenham side that challenged for the Premier League title under Mauricio Pochettino and earned 37 caps for England. Sir Alex Ferguson once named him as the player José Mourinho should sign at Manchester United.

Since leaving Spurs, however, persistent injuries and loss of form have defined his career. Spells at Everton and Besiktas yielded little, and his most recent attempt at a fresh start at Como — managed by Cesc Fàbregas — ended prematurely despite an 18-month contract. He made just one appearance for the Serie A club, lasting only 10 minutes before being shown a red card for a dangerous challenge on Ruben Loftus-Cheek in a 2-1 defeat to AC Milan.

With no club currently on the horizon, Alli’s next move — if one materialises — remains unclear.