England manager Gareth Southgate has urged Dele Alli to show more maturity as a player on and off the pitch.

The Tottenham playmaker was left out of the side that drew 1-1 against Italy earlier this week and the England manager explained that it was due to fitness reasons.

According to Times, Southgate and his management team were unhappy with the player’s attitude on the bench during England’s win over Holland. Apparently, Alli was busy giggling and messing around instead of watching the game.

The England boss has spoken to Alli privately after training on Monday and has challenged him to show some maturity if he wants to claim a place in the England starting lineup. Southgate also feels that Alli can be too individualistic and he struggled to follow instructions.

Alli has been quite inconsistent this season and he will need to address those problems before the World Cup begins. The midfielder has also attracted a lot of criticism this season because of his tendency to dive.

It will be interesting to see how Alli responds to Southgate’s challenge now.

There is no doubt that the 22-year-old is a phenomenal talent but he needs to improve his mentality if he wants to fulfil his massive potential.