Dele Alli thrown career lifeline as Wrexham fight two clubs after star had deal ripped up

Hollywood-owned Wrexham are reportedly battling it out with two other Championship sides to sign former Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli. The ex-England star is looking for a new club following the mutual termination of his contract at Como last week.

Dele managed just one appearance for the Serie A outfit after joining them on a free transfer in January on an 18-month contract. The 29-year-old was aiming to get his career back on track after battling with injuries, addiction issues and mental health struggles. However, his debut turned into a nightmare after he was sent off barely ten minutes after being introduced as a substitute during Cesc Fabregas' team's 2-1 defeat to AC Milan at the San Siro in March.

He was later frozen out of the team despite once being seen as one of the top players in the Premier League during his time at Spurs. Dele also earned 37 caps for England and helped his country reach the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, but his career has since taken a nosedive following ill-fated spells at Everton, Besiktas and most recently at Como.

Wrexham, owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, are now said to be preparing to offer him a lifeline. Championship rivals Birmingham City and West Brom are also hoping to secure the free agent's services, according to the Daily Mail.

The Welsh side announced last week that one space is available on their 25-man squad list. Following their promotion from League One in April, Wrexham spent big during the summer, splashing out an estimated £33million on bringing in 13 new players.

Ipswich forward Nathan Broadhead was their most expensive signing, arriving in a club record dealthat couldbe worth up to £10m. The Red Dragons also spent £6.5m to lure Coventry midfielder Ben Sheaf to the Racecourse Ground as manager Phil Parkinson looked to build a squad capable of competing in the second tier.

Wrexham are currently 15th in the Championship table after picking up their first win of the season by beating Millwall 2-0 away just before the international break. Meanwhile, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Dele was banished from Como's training camp during the summer before Fabregas chose to dispense with his services last week.

A joint statement from Dele and Como said: "Como 1907 and Dele Alli have agreed to a mutual termination of his contract. Dele is keen to secure regular playing opportunities and, as he was not part of the club's immediate plans, both parties felt it was the right decision to part ways ahead of the transfer window closing. The club thanks Dele for his time at Como and wishes him the very best for the future."

It was previously claimed that Dele was considering retiring from football following his disappointing spell at Como, but those rumours were later dismissed. Last month, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand suggested off-field issues may have contributed to his ill-fated stint in Italy.

He said: "I think there's a lot more going on behind the scenes with Dele. I think it will be a nod to looking at players and going, actually, these guys aren't superhuman. They are real human beings that do have issues as well, and do have problems. If they're not addressed and they're not helped along the way at times, or they're not open for help, it can lead to situations like we've seen with Dele.

"At one point in his career, people were saying numbers-wise he was doing more than Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes - like ridiculous. The trajectory was like: 'Woof!' He's obviously kind of fallen off a cliff, but the reasons I think are a lot deeper than we see."