Mauricio Pochettino was overwhelmed with emotion when he was introduced to Dele Alli during an interview with Sky Sports on the Monday Night Football show. The 28-year-old midfielder enjoyed a meteoric rise to superstardom under the Chelsea boss during their days together at Tottenham Hotspur.

Dele, who sees his contract at Goodison Park expire at the end of the season, featured 194 times for Pochettino, scoring 55 goals and providing 49 assists. He played a key role in the Argentinean's side when Spurs reached the Champions League final in 2019.

The former England international produced two crucial assists in that iconic semi-final second leg against Ajax before falling at the last hurdle against Liverpool. Dele and Pochettino parted ways six months later when Daniel Levy sacked the former Lilywhites boss following some poor results.

Despite never reuniting with one another again on a professional basis, the Chelsea manager still has a soft spot for his former colleague. Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football show, Pochettino was introduced to Dele ahead of the Everton clash at Stamford Bridge.

"Good evening, I knew you were with him because I was watching in my manager's room and your interview with Dele," said the 52-year-old. "Look, I need to talk now. I cannot see you now but I want to say hello to Dele. What a player, oh my goodness. So happy to see you there."

Speaking to Gary Neville on 'The Overlap' in July 2023, Alli named Pochettino as the best manager he worked with during his career, despite having worked with Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho. The former Tottenham ace said: "Mauricio Pochettino was the best manager and I couldn't have asked for a better manager at the time.

"It wasn't like a footballer and a manager relationship. It was deeper than that, I felt. He was just so understanding of the decisions I was making, and he was guiding – like, he cared about me as a person before the football, which is what I needed at that time. And I think that's important for young players."

Dele added: "I think [Pochettino] helped a lot in that period of my career, which is why it was tough for me when he left. Because, you know, then you [get] new managers, and it was hard for me to let anyone in at that point and to be open.

"And I felt like everything was just so fake. When people – managers – would speak to me, I just felt like the conversations weren't real. It's hard to explain. It's something like it was more, it was probably more me and in my own head and my own ego.

"You know, I weren't open to let anyone in, and I didn't feel like any of them wanted to really know me on a personal level, which is then tough for me to fully commit and give my everything for them, which obviously had a negative impact on me in the long run."

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