Erratic, frustrating but a match-winner: Why Portsmouth should sign divisive £1.5m man
Why, for all his erratic qualities, Pompey should look to sign Millenic Alli this summer.
Extreme.
That was how John Mousinho privately described Millenic Alli, as noise first circulated of Pompey’s January interest in the out-of-favour Luton Town winger.
The Blues head coach was asked to develop on exactly what he was getting at in his one-word assessment of the new Republic of Ireland international, ahead of his eventual arrival.
Why Pompey should sign erratic Luton winger - at right price
After 21 games of watching Alli across the final three-and-a-bit months of the season, there’s no need for further explanation of that characterisation now.
Because ‘extreme’ perfectly sums up the levels of physicality and pace offered by the man who moved to Kenilworth Road from Exeter for £1.5m in January of last year.
It also depicts accurately the in-game decision making and wandering concentration which often frustrated, as his impressive early Pompey form drifted into a late-season malaise.
Those polarised qualities and form mean there’s also a vast separation in views of the player among supporters.
There was the often overlooked mitigation of Alli being slogged by his boss, as he turned out an unbroken run of starts across an unrelenting schedule.
That stretched to 15 matches from January until April and would’ve undoubtedly impacted the level at which the winger was operating in a physically demanding area of the pitch.
The hope and demand is Pompey’s summer squad planning puts them in a place where they don’t have to rely so heavily on one man out wide again.
Josh Murphy’s lengthy hiatus was, of course, the main reason why Mousinho leant on Alli so much, with the Blues boss openly acknowledging he was effectively run into the ground.
With the physical output he demands of his wide men, the ideal scenario would be for Pompey to have four front-line options in total for both flanks, with starters switched up around the hour mark.
And that’s why having Alli to be able to call on makes perfect sense for next season.
To hopefully have Murphy fit and firing and supplement his outstanding attributes with what Alli has to offer doesn't seem such a bad option to have. There’s Keshi Anderson to throw into the mix, too.
Luton may use Alli’s international breakthrough as a bargaining chip to drive up his price, but this isn’t a player who’s increased in value. Any demands to that extent should take Pompey elsewhere in the winger hunt.
But, on the right terms, his maverick attributes are a potential asset moving forward.