Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle believes current Spurs star Dele Alli could end up matching Frank Lampard’s impressive goal tally.
Alli, who has now won the PFA Young Player of the Year for two years running, has taken the Premier League by storm after getting his chance under manager Mauricio Pochettino.
To date the midfielder has bagged 31 goals throughout his Spurs career whilst Lampard signed off his time at Chelsea with a record-breaking 211, while he also netted 29 times for England.
Spurs signed Alli from MK Dons in 2015 and club legend and former England manager Hoddle predicts his career could match that of Chelsea’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Speaking to the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, he said: “To think he’s only now just 21. What’s he going to be like when he’s 24 or 25?”
“For me he’s a goal machine – the way he runs into the box you can’t coach that.
“He’s got the instinct for that, his finishing is getting better and better, and the amount of goals he will score in his career will be incredible.
“He’s a different style of player to Frank Lampard but I think he will be up there with that sort of goal ratio for England and for Spurs.”
Tottenham may have seen their title challenge suffer a major setback following defeat to West Ham last Friday but Hoddle is hugely optimistic about the team’s future.
However, he insisted the key to success for Tottenham was to keep their current stars together with Pochettino in charge.
“The key is to keep your best players. In the past Harry [Redknapp] built a really good team and then Modric goes and Berbatov goes,” Hoddle explained.
“We have got to keep the best players there and add top players every two years.
“We have got a very good squad at the moment but it needs to go deeper, for me, to go on and challenge Chelsea and all the top teams.
“Spurs are at that crossroads and I pray to god the owners have got that intent and they go and do it.
“It’s been mooted about Kyle Walker going and you don’t want to set that trend.
“You have got to keep your best players and add to it and if they see someone go like that it might set a precedent.”