Dele Alli made his 50th Premier League appearance on Wednesday, and he marked the occasion with two goals as Tottenham saw off Southampton with a 4-1 victory.
The England midfielder has enjoyed a remarkable start to his career and despite being just 20-years-old he is already a regular for Spurs and England.
And a look at the stats show that he is on track to emulate or even better the achievements on three Premier League and England midfield legends.
Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are lauded as three of the best midfielders the English game has ever seen. Each won hatfuls of trophies for Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, and picked up almost 300 England caps between them.
So how is Alli doing so far compared to these greats?
The answer is, he’s doing better than any of them, after their first 50 top flight matches.
Scholes matches him for goals – they have 16 each – but Alli boasts 10 assists to Scholes’ three.
And he is already far ahead of Gerrard’s two goals and three assists, and Lampard’s five goals and two assists.
After 50 top flight matches:
- Dele Alli: 16 goals, 10 assists
- Paul Scholes: 16 goals, 3 assists
- Steven Gerrard: 2 goals, 3 assists
- Frank Lampard: 5 goals, 2 assists
At this rate, Alli could go on to become one of the best Premier League midfielders of his generation.
