Thursday 28 April 2016 17:23, UK
Graeme Souness and Jamie Carragher think Dele Alli still has a lot to learn after the Tottenham starlet appeared to punch Claudio Yacob in the rib cage in Spurs' 1-1 draw with West Brom at White Hart Lane on Monday.
The result means Premier League leaders Leicester are just one win from the title, with three games left, and can clinch the trophy with victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Super Sunday.
Spurs could also be without Alli for some of the run-in as he may face retrospective action from the FA after he was filmed hitting out at Yacob and striking him in the stomach. The incident was unseen by referee Mike Jones.
"It was a little right hook to the rib cage - fair play to Yacob, he carries on, but Alli is fortunate that the referee didn't see that incident clearly," said Carragher, who likened Alli to Wayne Rooney in his younger days.
"These are the types of situations that Wayne Rooney was involved in," he said.
"He was a similar type of character. A fire-ball, who wanted to be involved in everything and be competitive. But tonight will be a massive learning curve for him - not only the Yacob incident - but understanding the 90 minutes of that type of game.
"Think of Spurs when they're in the Champions League away from home, he's going to be in that situation where people wind him up."
Alli and Yacob were engaged in a feisty battle in the early stages of the game, where the West Brom man made two early fouls on Alli and was clearly seen provoking the PFA Young Player of the Year.
Souness believes that it is a part of Alii's game that he will need to work on as opposition players will target his short fuse.
"It's just petulance - he's not going to hurt anyone but he's got that in him," he said.
"For him to become a top, top player he's got to retain that - he's got to accept that lesser lights like Yacob will mess him around.
"He's getting all the attention and is regarded as one of the best young prospects out there, he's going to get treatment like that from players like Yacob. What is Yacob in the team for? He's in there to mess people around. Alli has got to live with that.
"Hopefully he's at the bottom of a big, big, learning curve for him. He will get sent off - he's got that in him, which makes him the player that he's going to be. Hopefully he'll learn a lot from tonight. People will look at him and want to get him at it.
"They'll want to stop him concentrating on games and rough him up. As a young man full of testosterone, he wants to go chest to chest with people, but he's got to rise above that. He's got so much ability, so much athleticism - he should let the referee deal with anyone who wants to mess him around."
