Dele: "Football is never easy, it’s never a straight path"

Dele has never been one to hide. He knows he’s coming off the back of a tough 2020/21 campaign, but the fires are burning as he approaches his seventh season at Spurs.

That started in the summer, when the attacking midfielder got down to work during his break in preparation for pre-season, those little extras all geared towards ‘trying do as much as I can to be the best player I can possibly be’. Performances so far in pre-season, including two goals, have also been positive, as he's played in a midfield three in Nuno Espirito Santo’s first friendlies in charge and combined well with Lucas, Stevie Bergwijn and Heung-Min Son in attacking areas.

Next up, The Mind Series against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this evening (4 August, 7.45pm) and Arsenal at home on Sunday (8 August, 2pm) before the big kick-off against Manchester City on Sunday 15 August (4.30pm).

At 25, Dele’s statistics make impressive reading. He’s now up 249 appearances for us in all competitions since his debut at Old Trafford in August, 2015. He’s scored 65 goals in that time, helped us to second, third twice and fourth in the Premier League, started the Champions League Final, twice won PFA Young Footballer of the Year and Goal of the Season in 2015/16. He’s also earned 37 England caps and scored at the 2018 World Cup.

But then we have to go back to last season, where he made 29 appearances across the board, but only started seven times in the Premier League. He still managed four goals in the Europa League and his overhead kick against Wolfsberger AC made it into UEFA’s top 10 vote for the season.

So, where does Dele see himself going into 2021/22? “The main thing for me is to build up consistency and to hit the targets that I’ve set for myself with the way I play and the players we have here,” he told us.

“I set my ambitions high, and they always will be. I’ve got numbers I want to hit this season and that’s what I plan to do. I feel I’m in a good position, physically I’m feeling good, and I’ve learned a lot over the last few years, that’s the main thing.

“Football is never easy, it’s never a straight path and there will always be ups and downs. I’ve had a few downs, but I’ve also had a lot of ups and I’m in a position now to use all the different experiences I’ve had to move forward and kick on. I don’t want to set my standards at, ‘I scored 18 goals and therefore had a good season’, my target is always more than that. I always want to get better, achieve more and that’s what I plan to do.”

Always positive, how had Dele dealt with those tougher times and what had learned about himself last season? “I've just tried to stay positive, tried to figure out why things are happening, what I can improve on, what I can work on,” he said.

“Having good people around me has helped, and I’m a very ambitious person. I want to be a good person and good footballer at the same time, so I’m trying to find the right balance in life and trying to achieve as much as I can. When you have your focus and what you want to do it’s easy to block out all the negativity around you, stay positive and try to achieve what you want to achieve.”

Did he see 2021/22 as a clean slate? “You could say that. For me, it’s been a process. I’m learning from all the good things that have happened and all the bad things at the same time, trying to take it all in and build myself up to perform as well as I can and be the best person and player I can be. It’s a good time.”