Tottenham's Gareth Bale, left, and Tottenham's Dele Alli celebrate the third goal against Wolfsberger. AP
Tottenham's Gareth Bale, left, and Tottenham's Dele Alli celebrate the third goal against Wolfsberger. AP
Tottenham's Gareth Bale, left, and Tottenham's Dele Alli celebrate the third goal against Wolfsberger. AP
Tottenham's Gareth Bale, left, and Tottenham's Dele Alli celebrate the third goal against Wolfsberger. AP

Football

Jose Mourinho relishing the 'headache' of Dele Alli's return to his best for Tottenham

England international back in the fold after nearly leaving the club

The National

February 25, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho is revelling in the selection headache Dele Alli's return to form is giving him.

Alli was marginalised by the Spurs boss for the first half of the season and was primed to leave during the January transfer window before the club blocked a move to Paris Saint Germain.

The 24-year-old subsequently held clear-the-air talks with Mourinho and has been reintegrated into the squad, with his biggest step forward coming in Wednesday's 4-0 Europa League win over Wolfsberger that sent Spurs through to Friday's last-16 draw after an 8-1 victory on aggregate.

Alli scored a brilliant overhead kick before laying on goals for Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale after the break to put himself in contention for more Premier League minutes, starting against Burnley on Sunday.

Spurs could do with Alli producing magic like that in the league as they look to arrest an alarming run which has seen them lose five of their last six games.

"These are the headaches that I love," Mourinho said. "The headaches that you don't like are the headaches of selection. Lots of people not performing. Lots of doubts, by negative reasons.

"These are the wonderful problems. But playing Sunday, and playing Thursday at Fulham, and Sunday against Palace, and playing Thursday in Europa League again, that's what I need.

"The players they need to understand this concept of team, and the intensity of matches. And if you have everybody ready or play at this level, it's the best thing to happen to the team."

With Spurs set for a gruelling schedule between now and the end of the season, Mourinho is preparing to us his entire squad.

"We have a lot to play for, we have Premier League, Europa League, we have a final (League Cup) to play so every player back is a blessing to us," Mourinho added.

"We have an incredible number of matches. Seven for us plus three in the national team are ten in March. Ten matches I believe is impossible for a football player, so when it is impossible you need to have players available for you.

"We had a problem for a month with only Ben Davies at left-back. Now we have Ben and (Sergio) Reguilon and we need to have that in every position. That's what we need because we have a lot to play for."

Killing of Qassem Suleimani

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Kareem Shaheen on Canada
While you're here
More on Quran memorisation:
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
if you go

The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.

The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.

 

 

What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

Seek professional advice from a legal expert

You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor

You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline

In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support

THREE
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press

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