Dele Alli: Everton midfielder joins Besiktas on season-long loan
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Dele Alli has not scored or assisted for Everton since joining in February
Everton midfielder Dele Alli has joined Turkish side Besiktas on loan for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.
The 26-year-old joined Everton from Tottenham in February and made 11 appearances, but just one start, for the Goodison Park club last season.
The England international has made two substitute outings - in league defeats against Chelsea and Aston Villa - for the Toffees this season.
"For the first time, I will play football outside England," Alli said.
"To be honest I feel great emotions from the moment I arrived. I can feel the passion here everywhere I travel.
"This is amazing stuff. I am very excited to start work as soon as possible. It will be a new challenge for me, I can't wait for it."
Alli won the last of his 37 caps for England in 2019.
Besiktas have said they will not pay a loan fee to Everton but there is an option to buy included in the deal.
Alli will be paid a guaranteed £1.85m (2.2m euros) for the loan plus a maximum of £8,400 (10,000 euros) per game.
The former MK Dons midfielder added: "I just want to thank our fans for their support so far. I will reward them for this support by working hard in training and fighting every minute on the field. I hope I can make them happy and we can achieve success together."
A two-time winner of the PFA's Young Player of the Year award, Alli did not score or register an assist in 13 games for Frank Lampard's side.
Besiktas finished sixth in the Turkish Super Lig last season.
Analysis - Phil McNulty, BBC Sport chief football writer
The dramatic decline of Dele Alli from the golden boy of English football to lost talent comes into even sharper focus as he leaves Everton for a loan spell at Besiktas after only seven months at Goodison Park.
Alli had the world at his feet when he came through at Tottenham after joining from MK Dons and looked a superstar in waiting when he scored twice and gave a spectacular performance as Real Madrid were beaten 3-1 in the Champions League at Wembley in November 2017.
He figured in England's team that reached the World Cup semi-final in Russia in 2018 but Alli's influence and ability has spiralled downward in quite inexplicable fashion ever since.
It seems the fire that gave him a fierce competitive edge to augment his natural gifts has been extinguished, with even the pleading of then Spurs manager Jose Mourinho that Dele would regret wasting a potentially stellar career failing to re-ignite it.
Alli's drift is one of the most mysterious of all football conundrums, having won the PFA Young Player Of The Year twice in succession in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Everton manager Frank Lampard gambled on Alli as he only had one day of the transfer window left when he was appointed at Goodison Park in January, but the player's only serious contribution - albeit a very important one - was as a second-half substitute when they turned around a 2-0 half-time deficit to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 and survive in the Premier League.
He still has so much goodwill among those who want to see this special talent fulfilled, but the hopes of that actually coming to fruition are dwindling.
Besiktas arguably represents his final chance to revive a career that has lost its way.
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