Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli discusses his love of nutmegs - 'I re-watched the Luka Modric one'

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Sam Long18 May 2017

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli is certainly not afraid of expressing himself on the pitch.

The 21-year-old's penchant for flair has helped him to become a lynchpin in north London as well as one of the brightest prospects in world football.

And, despite only plying his trade at the top level for two full seasons, the Spurs star has developed a trademark piece of skill; the nutmeg.

Alli's close control - and ability to spot even the smallest of gaps - means he bamboozles opponents at an impressive rate.

Spurs fans on social media even keep a tally of Alli's nutmeg successes and the midfielder has admitted he only performs them out of necessity some of the time.

"I do love a nutmeg," he told Men in Blazers.

"There's different ones. There's ones that are natural and it's the only place you can go and the only way you can get out of a situation.

"Then there's other ones when you get the ball in the corner and you think about doing a trick and it's all about having a bit of fun and enjoying it.

"Sometimes I try it a little bit too much and the other players tell me when I do that!"

Alli's most famous nutmeg took place before he had even made his competitive debut for Spurs.

The occasion was a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid in August 2015 and the victim was none other than Luka Modric.

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Alli was still relatively unknown at that point and could not resist taking a second peek at his exploits.

He explained: "After that game I looked at it yeah - I didn't realise how clean it was until I watched it back on video."

Standard Sport's player rating for Alli in the clash against Madrid proves just how the youngster's moment of magic caught the eye.

"The only Tottenham player to impress in the first half, his nutmeg of Modric showed the youngster was not awed by the famous opposition."

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