Ex-Dons midfielder wants to see him get back to his best again*

Dele recently disclosed to Gary Neville on The Overlap that the 27-year-old suffers from mental health problems and has a sleeping medication addiction. The Everton midfield player talked about his challenging and convoluted childhood, which Smith was informed about while he was at MK1.

Smith stated, “You hope that any player can get back when they have had those kinds of struggles,” in an interview with BritishGambler.co.uk. Karl Robinson and I were always aware of his parents’ grasp of their relationship, so while we were at MK Dons, we were all aware of his background and circumstances—not his mental health. He was well-cared for by a kind family at MK Dons, where he lived.

“It’s always difficult when someone gets to a certain age and he left to go to Tottenham and you can’t stay under the guidance of someone so long when you become an adult – we speak about it at the school, whether that’s a little bit younger here when they can start to drive and they have their own freedom, and they start to make their own choices on do they want to go to college and play or do they want to be a professional.”

“At MK, we were such a close-knit community that we could take care of him as much as possible because everything was organised and we were aware of everything that was happening,” he went on. He moved in on his own and became an adult as soon as he moved to Tottenham. At that point, you have to make your own judgements.

“Everyone who is engaged in football, in my opinion, detests seeing someone struggle with their mental health, especially when it results in them not enjoying the game or wanting to give up on something they’re naturally extremely good at. Everyone will be sending him their best wishes, and we all want to see him return to playing and his previous level, when he was most likely a regular and a first name on the team-sheet for England.