According to a report by Football London on Monday October 26, 2026, during his selection of a combined Chelsea and Tottenham team, former Premier League striker Troy Deeney compared Cole Palmer to Dele Alli, the former Spurs midfielder at his peak, and ultimately favored Alli.

Although Palmer's red card against Tottenham has garnered a lot of attention, it doesn't take away from his remarkable accomplishments since becoming a Chelsea player. He became one of the best attacking players in the Premier League in his first season with Mauricio Pochettino.

When Dele left Tottenham, his career took a nosedive, and he is now a free agent. His short career has diminished his legacy, but even with those setbacks, his peak years with the Spurs were unforgettable.

The current Chelsea squad under Xabi Alonso and the Tottenham team from 2017/18 were both included in Deeney's combined XI. After seeming unsure about the decision at first, he ultimately chose Dele.

A TikTok video by Deeney stated, "Give me that Dele Alli over this current Cole Palmer.". He remembered the former Tottenham star's accomplishment of being named the PFA Young Player of the Year and lauded his quality.

With two goals in Tottenham's historic 3-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Dele finished the 2017–18 Premier League season with nine goals and ten assists.

Nevertheless, Palmer's finest Chelsea campaign is still impressive. In 34 league games during the 2023–24 season, he contributed to 33 goals with 22 goals and 11 assists.

In comparing their best Premier League seasons, Palmer's statistics were higher than Dele's in 2016–17, when the Tottenham midfielder made 37 appearances and scored 18 goals with nine assists.

In contrast to Dele's 0.53 goals and 0.80 assists per 90 minutes, Palmer averaged 0.75 goals and 1.13 assists per 90 minutes in his outstanding season. These numbers show how productive an attacker Palmer is.

While putting together his combined squad, Deeney had to make a number of tough choices, including selecting Jan Vertonghen ahead of Levi Colwill and Christian Eriksen ahead of Pedro Neto.

His final selection was Hugo Lloris; Kieran Trippier, Maxence Lacroix, Jan Vertonghen, Jorrel Hato; Moussa Dembele, Moises Caicedo; Morgan Rogers, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen; and Heung-Min Son.