Dele Alli has admitted he came close to joining a Premier League rival before his switch to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Englishman joined Spurs from MK Dons back in February 2015 for a fee worth around £5 million. 

Dele spent the remainder of the campaign on loan at his former club and helped them achieve promotion from League One.

He linked up with his Tottenham teammates that summer and while he was viewed as an exciting prospect, not many expected him to make such an instant impact.

The midfielder went on to net 10 goals and provide nine assists in his debut season in the Premier League.

Dele’s rise at Spurs was quite incredible as he bettered his first campaign by netting 21 times and providing 10 assists the following season.

But the 28-year-old has revealed that things could have worked out differently as he held talks with a Premier League rival before joining Tottenham.

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Dele Alli admits he nearly joined Liverpool

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Dele admitted he met with former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers over a move to Anfield. 

“Liverpool were playing West Ham in London and I went to meet Brendan Rodgers the night after that game [MK Dons] and the night before the Liverpool game, and we had a conversation but it never happened,” he said.

“It went well. I was at MK and I was happy there, even when I joined Tottenham I went back on loan because I wanted to see the team get promoted, it was my local team and I wanted to help them go back and help them finish it off.

“I felt at that time I was ready to make the next step and I felt the way I was playing at that time really suited me, that was the main reason I went to Tottenham, it was purely based off the manager at the time.

“I felt I was ready at the time and it didn’t happen for whatever reason, and I’m a big believer everything happened for a reason. So then going to Tottenham maybe wouldn’t have gone as well if I did join Liverpool.”

Jamie Carragher then admitted he was gutted Liverpool didn’t beat Spurs to signing Dele.

He said: “It’s interesting because every time he scored a goal for Tottenham we would all be saying to each other he should be at Liverpool!

“We’d be sending texts saying why didn’t we get him, why didn’t we sign him. It was a bad problem for us but it worked out well for you!”

Dele’s stats at Tottenham

Dele remains a fan-favourite at Spurs following five brilliant years in north London.

The midfielder scored 67 goals and provided 59 assists in 269 appearances for the club.

His struggles on and off the pitch in recent years have been well documented but it’s brilliant to see Dele itching to get back on the pitch.

The former England international has spent the season on the sidelines due to injury and with his contract at Everton set to expire this summer, he could be on the move once again.