Every day at 11 a.m., Dele Alli’s phone rings with a three-word alert.

When Dele Alli sets an alarm on his phone every day, it shows how determined he is to play at the top level again.

The midfielder who used to play for MK Dons and Spurs is now a free agent after his deal with Everton expired. He hasn’t played a competitive game of football since February 2023.

Still, Alli has been able to train at Finch Farm this summer while the Toffees help him get better from his illness.

Sean Dyche, the manager of Everton, recently gave an update on Alli’s condition. Diche said, “He’s just making sure he’s right.” He has lost a little of his fitness, so he is just going through the full recovery process.

It is said that Everton could offer the 28-year-old a new contract depending on how his recovery goes. However, the Daily Mail reports that Ligue 1 team Lille is also interested in signing him.

Alli wants to play as well as he did before. The player talked about his desire to play for England at the 2026 World Cup on Monday Night Football in April.

Alli played a few times for England at the U17 and U18 levels. From 2015 to 2019, he earned an excellent 37 caps for his country, including games in Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

“I know my level as a player and what I can get to,” he told Sky Sports. “I talked about it in my interview, so I don’t want to go over it too much again.”

“I know how great I can be when I’m happy and in the right frame of mind.” I’m obviously upset about getting hurt right now, but I can’t wait to play again.

“It’s hard for me to watch football.” I’d say it’s been hard for me over the last eight months.

Thereafter, Alli talked about his choice to set his phone to remember him every day at 11 a.m.

“You know you can set reminders on your phone. Every day at 11 o’clock, mine says, ‘World Cup 2026/’,” he said. My goal right now is that. That he hasn’t played in a year, but I don’t care; I know my level.

“Right now the only thing I want is to win the World Cup.” Being hurt and signed by Everton means that I have to take things one day at a time and make sure that my injury heals so that I can be in the best shape possible after the summer.