Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has defended Dele Alli in the wake of criticism of his performances.
The England international's form has dipped markedly in recent weeks, his travails coinciding with a poor run of results for Spurs.
"I'm so happy with him," Pochettino said when asked about the midfielder. "Your question is like 'Oh, Dele Alli is not performing like in the last few years', but his first few years were the last few seasons, he's so young.
"He needs to find his balance. But I am happy with him. It's normal we always expect from him, because he's a very talented player, to score in every game and make unbelievable things. It's normal sometimes the players are up and down.
"The experienced players struggle during [for] 10 months to keep their performance. With Dele, he's young, it's normal sometimes to be up and down. I am happy with him."
