Dele Alli has been told that dropping down to the Championship may be good for his career.

Alli has struggled to recapture the brilliant form that made him one of the best young talents in world football.

Alli has just six substitute appearances since joining Everton

The 25-year-old was sidelined by successive managers at Tottenham and he looked for a fresh start with a January move to Everton.

But things have still not been plain-sailing under Frank Lampard as Alli has struggled to get a grip on a first-team place.

He has been limited to just six substitute appearances, 170 minutes of action in total, since joining the Toffees.

Former Premier League striker Darren Bent believes dropping to the second tier may help kick-start things for him.

Everton are currently teetering on the edge of the relegation zone and are just three points clear, but crucially have games in hand.

"I thought going to Everton with fresh surroundings would kind of kick him back into life," Bent told talkSPORT. "Completely different circumstances and different manager.

Alli left Tottenham in the hopes of getting his career back on track

"It just hasn't happened.

"What might need to happen and there's no guarantees, and it's a knock on his pride but, at the end of the day, he's not playing well, is maybe he needs to go down a division to the Championship and completely rip it up.

"If Everton were to go down, then he could absolutely rip it up as you'd expect him to be the best player in that division, get a bit of confidence and then maybe come back up.

"At the moment he can't see to get himself going. If they go down, what Premier League club would buy him."