Spurs: Why is Dele Alli training at Tottenham?
spurs: Dele Alli, 29, has returned to Tottenham Hotspur to train independently as he works to rebuild fitness and seek a new club. He has been without a club since September 2025 (ET) after his contract at Como was terminated. Tottenham are allowing him access to their training facilities while he improves his condition and looks for a contract.
Spurs training: what is known
Dele Alli has been using Tottenham’s academy grounds and has posted clips of those sessions on his social media platforms. The midfielder’s return to the north London training complex follows a spell at Como that ended in September 2025 (ET) when his contract was terminated. At Como he made a solitary appearance, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute against AC Milan and being sent off for a challenge on midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Across his career he spent the bulk of his playing time at Tottenham Hotspur: 269 appearances over seven years, scoring 67 goals and logging 19, 150 minutes on the pitch. Earlier in his career he logged 6, 514 minutes at MK Dons. After leaving Tottenham in 2022, fitness and form issues limited his spells at Everton and Besiktas. He made 13 appearances for Everton between 2022 and 2024, totaling 369 minutes, and during a loan to Besiktas he scored three goals in 15 appearances, playing 830 minutes.
As a free agent, Alli is eligible to sign outside the standard transfer windows. The club have said the former player is training individually and have not mentioned any trial arrangements.
Immediate reactions
Dele Alli, midfielder and free agent, former Tottenham Hotspur player, addressed fans directly when he returned to the club as a special guest at the north London derby in February (ET). He said: “I can’t wait to get back on the pitch playing, hopefully it won’t be too long now. I hope you’ve missed me as much as I’ve missed you. A lot has happened in our journeys since we were last together but I’m back today and I hope you know that you’ll always be my family. “
The club’s public position remains that Alli is training individually; they have not confirmed any trial or steps toward re-signing him.
What’s next
Alli will continue his individual work at Tottenham’s facilities while weighing potential moves. He has been linked with several clubs in recent coverage and remains available to sign at any time thanks to his free-agent status. A return to Tottenham is described as unlikely but not impossible; any reunion would depend on who is appointed permanent manager at the club in the summer and on the offers Alli receives as he looks to restore his fitness and form.
For now, the immediate plan is clear: rebuild fitness at the training ground he knows and pursue a new contract, while the wider picture — and any decision that might bring him back to spurs — will hinge on the coming managerial and transfer developments.
