Frank Lampard has thrust Dele Alli towards the front of the queue for the Player of the Year gong and has backed the Tottenham man to beat his goalscoring record.

Alli scored a magnificent goal on Saturday during Spurs’ 4-0 win over Watford to reach a combined total of 40 goals and assists before the age of 21.

He turns 21 years old on Tuesday but has already been directly involved in as many goals as Lampard (15), Steven Gerrard (13) and David Beckham (12) had all managed before they reached that age.

During his career with West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester City, Lampard managed 177 Premier League goals, a record for a midfielder, but he believes Alli, who already has 26 league goals, is on course to beat that total.

“Could he score more than me? He could do. Of all the midfield players I’ve seen who scores goals, he’s the one who is the best at it,” Lampard told Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday.

“Dele Alli is a special player. He’s better than me when I was 20, that’s for sure! He is like a second striker at the moment, but that makes sense with the way they play.

“He scores goals like he did against Watford, but he’s also in the six-yard box scoring. Too many attacking midfield players get to the penalty spot and stop, don’t go that extra mile.