Dele Alli had poignant reason for picking radical new Everton shirt number
Following his move from Tottenham Hotspur to Everton on Deadline Day, it has now been confirmed which squad number Dele Alli will wear on his shirt for the Toffees
Posted Friday, February 04, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk
Dele Alli had a poignant reason for picking his radical new shirt number following his Deadline Day move from Tottenham Hotspur to Everton.
The former England midfielder has moved to Goodison Park on a free transfer with a £10million add-on fee included in the deal once he has made 20 appearances.
Everton fans will have to wait to see their new playmaker in action, though, as he is cup tied for this weekend's FA Cup fourth round clash with Brentford.
However, when Alli does make his debut for the Toffees he will do so with a shirt number he has never worn competitively before.
Dele Alli joined Everton from Tottenham Hotspur on Deadline Day
Everton confirmed on Thursday that Alli has been given the squad number 36 following his move to the club.
This number is special to the 25-year-old, having been the first squad number he was ever given during his time at MK Dons.
The book 'Dele Alli - Ultimate Football Heroes' by Matt and Tom Oldfield explains his association with the number.
"During the 2011/12 season, Dele didn’t quite get to make his debut for the MK Dons first team, but he trained with the squad regularly, and he was a sub for all of their FA Cup matches.
"That turned out to be an exciting, but also frustrating experience. The good news was that he got his very own shirt number - 36 - and the chance to feel like part of the first team.
"The bad news was that Dele had to do two of his least favourite things in football - watching and waiting."
Alli never made an appearance whilst he was MK Dons' number 36, instead only being an unused sub in three FA Cup matches during the 2011/12 season.
His number had been changed to 22 by the time he made his debut and he would go on to wear 21 and 14 for the club before moving to Spurs in 2015.
While at Spurs, Alli wore number 20, the same number he has worn for England at the 2016 Euros and the 2018 World Cup.
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