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Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho says “it is possible” Dele Alli will play in Thursday’s Europa League qualifying play-off against Maccabi Haifa.
Alli, 24, was left out of Spurs’ Premier League draw with Newcastle on Saturday and Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Chelsea.
But Mourinho says he has been impressed by Alli’s attitude in response.
“The only thing I can say is he’s being very professional. He trained very hard,” Mourinho said.
With Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale both unavailable, midfielder Alli, who has been linked with a move away from Spurs, is in line to make his third start of the season.
“It would be perfectly acceptable to have a lack of motivation, even a lack of professionalism for this training session [on Tuesday] but it was exactly the opposite,” Mourinho added.
“He has my respect and the respect of his team-mates so it is possible he plays.”
The winners of Thursday’s tie will advance to the group stage of the competition, with Mourinho eyeing a third success in the competition, after winning it once as the Europa League and once in its former guise, the Uefa Cup.
“We are going to have a good go and we are going to try and win it,” added the Portuguese manager.
“These knockout ties are very dangerous. We have to make sure tomorrow [Thursday] we win it.”
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