According to reports in The Sun, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli wants to become the club's highest-paid player with a new £160,000-a-week deal.

What's the word, then?

Well, The Sun says that Spurs are ready to hand the 21-year-old a new contract even though he still has four years left to run on the £50,000-a-week deal he signed 12 months ago.

Alli's stock has risen considerably since then following an outstanding 2016/17 campaign, and despite appearing slightly more subdued so far this season, the England international is ready to demand wages way in excess of the north London's outfit's current top earners – Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris – who The Sun say are on a basic salary of around £100,000 per week.

The Daily Mail adds that Alli is willing to test Tottenham's resolve as he knows he could earn around £200,000 per week elsewhere.

How has Alli done this season?

Having scored 22 goals and provided a further 13 assists in 50 appearances in all competitions for Spurs last term, the 21-year-old certainly set himself a high benchmark to live up to during the current campaign.

It hasn't quite worked out for him yet though and he has netted three goals and picked up one assist in nine outings in total.

The fact that he has been banned for their Champions League fixtures to date certainly hasn't helped, while he was also involved in controversy for club and country following the middle finger gesture and being booked for diving in the 4-0 win against Huddersfield Town last time out.

Does he deserve £160,000 per week?

It's difficult to say.

While Alli made a huge impact for Tottenham last season and is a hugely promising player for now and the future, it would be ludicrous for him to be on around £60,000 per week more than Kane based on current form.

It remains to be seen whether Daniel Levy will be willing to be flexible on his strict wage structure for the 21-year-old – who manager Mauricio Pochettino will be determined to keep hold of – but a failure to do so could mean that he leaves the north London outfit in the near future with the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona sure to be keeping a close eye on his progress.

That said, it would also mean players like Kane, Lloris and Toby Alderweireld would be knocking on the door to get their pay rises too.

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