Tottenham Hotspur youngster Dele Alli has revealed that manager Mauricio Pochettino did not like him at first, but gradually he has come to love him.
The England international joined the London-based club ahead of the 2015/16 season signing from League One side Milton Keynes Dons on a five-and-a-half-year deal.
Though the expectations was not sky high initially, the youngster has gone on to establish himself as a first team regular, impressing his manager and even earning praise from him on multiple occasions.
However, the journey wasn't that smooth initially as Alli insists that the Argentine's impression of him wasn't good.
Writing in a Mail on Sunday serialisation of the new book Brave New World, the young playmaker said that in his initial interactions with assistant manager Jesus Perez he was informed that the manager didn't like him initially – but now he loves him.
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"When I signed for Spurs in 2015, I came to have a look around the training ground, but I think he [Pochettino] was in Spain.
"I didn't see him till I came back for pre-season. It was really hard and I didn't know what he thought of me.
"The first proper one-on-one was with Jesus.
"They were speaking in Spanish and then Jesus said to me: 'He didn't like you…' or similar.
"The boss was staring me in the eye to see how I reacted. I was speechless! He [Perez] paused for like a second, and he said '…but now he loves you.'"
In the 105 matches Alli has played so far for Spurs, he has managed 35 goals and has set up 25 more for his team-mates.
