Darren Bent tells Dele Alli to watch footage of himself scoring early days goals at Tottenham in a bid to find some form for Everton, who need saving from relegation from the Premier League

Darren Bent has urged Dele Alli to go look at old footage of himself in a bid to find some form – adding the Everton man will see he is ‘miles’ from the player he was.

The Toffees midfielder, who joined the club from Tottenham in January, left Spurs for game time but did not make a league start under Frank Lampard.

It’s a stark contrast to when the 25-year-old was at his peak under Mauricio Pochettino a few years ago, when he netted 37 league goals in three seasons for his former club.

And Bent – who did something similar when he struggled with form as a player – says if Alli looked at pictures of himself during that time he might be able to discover form and help the players. Convicted Merseysiders.

“I thought if anyone could get the best out of him it would be Frank Lampard,” Bent told talkSPORT.

“Lampard played in that position, there were similarities when Dele first broke through, he was a goalscoring midfielder.

“I thought Frank would kind of put his arm around him and say, ‘Let yourself be shot again’, but, for some reason, that just didn’t happen.

“Dele, unfortunately, will have to watch himself. It can’t always be [Mauricio] Pochettino at the end of his stay at Tottenham, it can’t be [Jose] Mourinho, it can’t be Nuno [Espirito Santo]it can not be [Antonio] Tale. It can’t be Frank Lampard.

“At some point he has to look at himself and say, ‘Wait, there’s a big difference here.

“I remember talking to a psychologist at the time and looking at old pictures of myself and comparing them back then.

“If Dele does this now, he will be able to see for himself that he is day and night away from the player he was a few years ago.

“He’s miles away.”