Nigerian–born Tottenham’s Dele Alli ‘speechless’ over England call-up

Tottenham’s Dele Alli says he was left “speechless” by his maiden England call-up, just five months after playing in League One. Joining Roy Hodgson’s senior side caps a remarkable year for the highly-talented 19-year-old midfielder, having secured a £5m move to Spurs and achieved promotion with MK Dons.

Alli will join England’s squad for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania, having started the year played at the likes of Crawley, Scunthorpe and Fleetwood.

“I was speechless,” Alli said, when asked of his reaction to his call-up. “It’s been a really good start to the season for me. I maybe didn’t expect it to go this well. At the start of the season I set myself a target to try to become a regular in the under-21s and try to get a few starts in the Premier League.

“Obviously, I’ve got a few starts already, so it’s been a great start and I can’t thank the players and staff enough for helping me settle in and play as well as I have been.”