Dele Alli Rangers transfer pitch disclosed by former Ibrox hero (2025)

The Ibrox giants were urged to make a move for Dele Alli before the midfielder signed for Tottenham Hotspur in 2015

Rangers hero Graham Roberts has revealed that he urged his old club to try and sign Dele Alli before the England midfielder landed his big money move to Tottenham 10 years ago.

Spurs won the race to secure the then 18-year-old's signature for £5million in January 2015 after Alli had burst onto the scene in England's third tier with MK Dons.

Alli went onto score 67 goals in 269 appearances for the Lilywhites in the following seven seasons, appearing in the Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.

However, a succession of injuries and personal issues off the pitch have seen the 28-year-old's career plummet in recent seasons.

Alli made just 13 appearances in a frustrating three year spell with Everton between 2021 and 2024, with a loan stint in Turkey with Besiktas also yielding little success.

In a bid to get his career going again, the 37-time England cap teamed up with Cesc Fabregas' big spending Como in January but got off to a nightmare start in Serie A when he saw red on his debut against AC Milan at San Siro in his first competitive appearance in over two years.

But former Ibrox midfielder Roberts - who won a league title and a league cup during his two years at Ibrox between 1986 and 1988 - has detailed that he recommended Alli to his old team before the English Premier League big guns came calling.

Speaking to Express Sport, Roberts - who also enjoyed a successful six year spell with Spurs prior to joining Rangers - said: "I remember him scoring two goals against Chelsea, two brilliant goals when we won 3-1.

"I have always liked him, I don’t know what went wrong. I tried to recommend him to Rangers a few years ago and said: ‘If you get hold of him and you help him, there is a player there."

Elsewhere, reported target Couhaib Driouech has hinted that he would still be interested in a move to Ibrox after describing Rangers as a "beautiful club" last summer.

The winger was touted as a potential option for Philippe Clement before he ultimately left Excelsior to join fellow Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in a deal worth around £3million last summer.

The 22-year-old has made just 13 league appearances for the Eredivisie giants and has hinted that he might have to push for an exit at the end of the season if his situation doesn't change.

Driouech - who played alongside current Rangers frontman Hamza Igamane at youth level for Morocco- said: "I want to play for the first team.

"That’s why I came. But if I have to make minutes at Jong PSV (reserve team) and they think it’s good for me, I’ll try to make the best of it.

"Anyway, I played 90 minutes, scored a goal and had an OK game. I hope [the coaches] watched. I just try to make the most of the minutes I get, stay as fit as possible and I hope my chance will come. If it doesn’t work, you expect something else to happen."