Nigerian-British born Dele Alli on Sunday won 2015-2016 Professional Footballers’ Association, PFA Young Player of the Year Award.
Born to a Nigerian father Kenny and English mother Denise, Dele Alli has made six senior appearances for England, scoring in a 2-0 friendly win over France last November.
The 20-year-old midfielder in 2015 moved from MK Dons, a championship side , the second tier of English football to Tottenham for an initial £5m, and this season scored 10 goals in 32 top-flight games to help Spurs challenge Leicester for the title.
Dele Alli was unable to collect the award in person as Tottenham host West Brom on Monday, but former Spurs player and manager Ossie Ardiles collected the prize on his behalf.
He was also named in the Premier League Team of the Year.
Born into troubled family and living with his mother, who split from his father, in an interview Dele Alli’s mum, Denise, granted British tabloid, The Sun, the 52-year-old recalled how she was hooked on alcohol, and gave the soccer star up for adoption.
Fighting back tears, Denise told The Sun on Sunday: “I had to let him go to give him a better future.
“Emotionally, it was heartbreaking but it was the right thing to do.
“I had a serious drink problem triggered by my unhappy childhood.
“I was hooked on vodka, beer — anything — for a few years.”
Read the interview: I gave Dele Alli away at 13 to save him from gangs and allow him to follow his football dream
