Tottenham and England midfielder Dele Alli: 'You don't want players to walk all over you... I have had to look after myself                                                           A rare interview with Dele Alli plays out like a microcosm    of his career thus far, not least because he leaves you wondering why it has taken him this long to appear at an England media day.

Initially he does try to give the impression that he's a little nervous, expressing surprise at the number of journalists squeezed on to a horseshoe-shaped sofa in the sports hall at St George's Park. It's about a dozen.

But he quickly reveals himself to be as comfortable in this environment as he was when he first appeared in the Premier League and then, in no time at all, on the international stage.                                                                                                                                               Alli certainly comes across as an engaging, articulate young man. And if there is a rather volatile streak that reveals itself occasionally in the heat of battle, this precociously gifted 21-year-old footballer also seems to have his head screwed on.

His relatively late arrival at a top club — he was 18 when he signed for Tottenham from MK Dons — is one he reflects on with great maturity and intelligence. Alli explains that he resisted earlier advances because he thought it more prudent to continue his apprenticeship in the rough and tumble of League One.

'I didn't want to rush into anything,' he said. 'I was still really young so I knew I had time to develop and I just felt, for my personal development, that I had a great opportunity there to try to break into the first team.