Liverpool missed out on Dele Alli because owners would only pay offer a £4k per week contract

Alli has been one of Spurs’ best performers this season. (Picture: Getty)

Liverpool failed to secure the signature of Dele Alli at the last minute because their American owners refused to invest, according to reports.

Alli, who is quickly emerging as a future Premier League star, has been instrumental in Spurs’ unlikely title bid by scoring five goals in 25 appearances in all competitions in his debut season.

The 19-year-old secured a £5million move to White Hart Lane from MK Dons last season and was recently rewarded with a new £25,000 per week contract for his fine form under the stewardship of current manager Mauricio Pochettino.

But according to former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, he was left ‘frustrated and disappointed’ after the Reds failed to secure a deal for Liverpool fan Alli when they initially held talks with MK Dons manager Karl Robinson.

According to reports in the Daily Mail, the Liverpool owners only saw Alli as an Under 21 prospect and refused to pay him any more than £4,000 per week, a decision which ultimately saw the club miss out on the midfielder.

‘The young boy Alli has stepped up really, really well. He is fantastic,’ Brendan Rodgers said on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday programme.

Rodgers said a deal for Dele Alli had been agreed. (Picture: Getty)

‘We thought we had him at Liverpool – I spoke to him with his adoptive parents.

‘Karl Robinson, the manager of MK Dons, drove him down to us. They played a game on the Saturday, we were playing West Ham on the Sunday and we were in contact with Dele. It was all above board, I was speaking to Karl.

‘Karl has done a brilliant job with him, playing him in different positions, educating him on the game and Karl had actually come on to me and said, “listen, I’ve got a player Brendan, I think he is going to be fantastic. I’d love to see him at Liverpool.

‘We watched him, looked at him and then I spent a couple hours in a hotel room with him, he wanted to come to Liverpool. It was just then about getting the deal done with the club and unfortunately it never got done but at that point, that Saturday evening, we thought we had him in, it was done,’ Rodgers added.

‘He stayed on then, the deal didn’t get done between the clubs and eventually he went to Tottenham, which was frustrating and disappointing really.’