DELE ALLI’s search for a return to form suffered another hammer blow on Wednesday night as he was substituted in the 29TH MINUTE while playing for Besiktas.
The former Tottenham and England international, 26, joined the Turkish giants in the summer after a dismal spell at Everton.
He kicked things off on the continent with a goal in his second league match, before missing the next two games due to a thigh problem.
Since then, it has been all downhill for the 2019 Champions League finalist.
He failed to register a goal or assist in his five league games before the World Cup break.
Then, on his return to the pitch in a cup match against third tier side Sanliurfasport, he was taken off BEFORE the half hour mark.
And the home crowd seemed to boo him as he made his way off the field.
Alli was replaced by fellow ex-Spurs man Gedson Fernandes as one of two early changes made by manager Senol Gunes.
At the time of the substitutions, Alli’s Besiktas were trailing 2-0 as a stunning upset looked to be on the cards.
But an impressive second-half fightback saw the top-flight outfit turn things around to secure a 4-2 win.
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Former Everton man Cenk Tosun bagged a brace, with yet another ex-Tottenham player, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, also on the scoresheet.
And the final goal was netted by Holland international Wout Weghorst.
The giant striker, 30, returned to Besiktas off the back of scoring twice in his country’s dramatic penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Alli was recently criticised by Besiktas sporting director Ceyhun Kazanci for his poor performances.
Kazanci told TRT Spor: “No one can answer whether Dele Alli can do it right now.
“He is working very hard. He is a player who reached €100million (£87m) three years ago. He had a fall.
“Dele Alli is working intensively. We had intense talks with him before we signed him.
“Senol [Gunes] is famous for returning many players whose careers have been on the decline.
“We hope that he will be better in the second half of the season.”
Head coach Gunes also admitted that Alli has been “disappointing” and that he is struggling with him, as he said earlier in the season: “I couldn’t affect the players.
“Now I can easily touch them but we haven’t touched Dele Alli yet.
“Let’s not discuss Dele Alli as a player but he is below expectations in terms of efficiency.”
