Dele Alli was left out of Tottenham's matchday squad to face Southampton on Sunday, with Jose Mourinho admitting he was simply down the pecking order in his attacking options.

Alli was hauled off at half-time of Spurs' season-opening 1-0 loss to Everton last weekend and was left at home when Mourinho's men travelled to Bulgaria in midweek for their Europa League tie against Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

And there was still no way back for the England international at St Mary's, where Mourinho handed a start to Tanguy Ndombele in midfield and persisted with a front three of Lucas Moura, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Giovani Lo Celso, Moussa Sissoko, Erik Lamela and Steven Bergwijn were all on the bench and Mourinho explained Alli - who was linked with Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday - was a victim of what he feels is a bloated squad.

Asked if Alli had an injury, Mourinho told BT Sport before kick-off: "No, we have a huge squad, a squad with numbers that are very difficult to manage.

"I never had it, I don't like to have it and it's not easy for me to be here with 18 players and to have 10 training in the training ground - too many players.

"I start with Son, with Lucas, with Harry and on the bench I still have Moussa Sissoko and Lamela and Bergwijn.

"We have too many players for some positions and some of them they are paying the price of this."

The outlook is unlikely to get any better for Alli after Gareth Bale returned to the club on a loan deal from Real Madrid on Saturday, though the Wales forward is currently injured.

Following kick-off in Sunday's clash, reports subsequently emerged that Paris Saint-Germain had started talks with Spurs over signing the 24-year-old.

Alli started the Mourinho era in fine form when the Portuguese arrived in November, scoring four times and providing two assists in his first seven league appearances under the Spurs boss.

Yet he scored just twice after Boxing Day and was not named in England's squad for the recent Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark.

It has been a fall from grace for Alli, who Mourinho's predecessor Mauricio Pochettino called the best player in the world for his age just two years ago.