The family controversy that Dele Alli prefers to ignore is set to escalate, with claims from his estranged parents' camp that BBC's Panorama have shown interest in the unhappy story.

The England star has lived with Alan and Sally Hickford since he was 13 and his best friend is their son Harry, who played alongside Alli in the MK Dons academy. Alli regards the Hickfords, who have never officially adopted him, as his mother and father.

The Hickfords help look after the Tottenham midfielder's business affairs, including setting up property investment and image rights companies for a footballer who has the potential to break the world transfer record if he moves on from Spurs.

Dele Alli chose at the start of this season to only have his first name on the back of his shirt

Alli himself, although refusing to talk about his family background, is said to be happy with the situation. The 21-year-old has nothing to do with either his real parents Denise and Kehinde, who split when he was three, or his six siblings.

And he made his position clear when he took the surname Alli off his Spurs shirt and replaced it with Dele at the start of the season.

But his biological parents, who are being advised by a crisis management PR expert, claim the Hickfords are responsible for turning their son's head at an impressionable age when they never wanted to lose him.

Alli was recently named the PFA Young Player of the Year at the annual awards evening

Kehinde, who lives in the United States, has started legal action over the Hickfords' signing Alli's first professional contract at MK Dons when they did not have guardian status. And the Alli family intend to step up their campaign for Dele to at least acknowledge them or speak to their representative.

A spokeswoman for Panorama would not discuss potential projects.

Top sports agent Chubby Chandler's ISM agency already represents England cricketers Joe Root, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.

And busy Chubby wasn't hiding handing over his business card to one-day captain Eoin Morgan at the New Balance England kit launch.

England's ODI and T20 captain Eoin Morgan at the kit launch in central London on Tuesday

There may have been general approval for the England Test match clothing revealed by fresh suppliers New Balance at an old-style launch at their flagship store on Oxford Street.

But the one-day shirt and especially the T20 uniform look cheap and ordinary in the extreme — with none of the technology advance usually associated with New Balance footwear.

England will wear blue for one-day cricket, and a red striped kit in T20 Internationals

Jose Mourinho, who has moaned before about Manchester United's travel plans, might be having further words after the team checked into the Pazo Los Escudos Hotel before their Europa League semi-final first leg against Celta Vigo on Wednesday night, which is next to a nudist beach — and the United travelling media were in the same hotel.

Granny mugs Hollioake

Former England cricketer Adam Hollioake has revealed that a little old lady, around 70 years old, came to pick up an antique cabinet he agreed to sell her via the website Gumtree. After helping to load it into her car, she said she would get the cash out of her glovebox — but then sped off without paying.

Hollioake wrote on Facebook: 'There I was standing in the middle of the road like a gormless fool, as she floored it out of my road. Rolled by cute little old granny.'

Former England cricketer Adam Hollioake has said he was 'rolled by a cute little granny'

Meanwhile, MCC president Matthew Fleming, speaking at the AGM about the Rugby v Marlborough match returning to Lord's, amused members when in his list of Rugby's cricket alumni he mentioned minor county cricketer Miles Giffard, executed for murdering his parents, before Giles Clarke, the obnoxious former ECB chairman.

Bookmakers Ladbrokes will have a hard task replacing highly respected director of media David Williams, who is leaving after 13 years as racing spokesman to pursue other opportunities.

There is no one obvious at Ladbrokes or recently merged partners Coral who has the same friendliness and drive that Williams brings to the racing circuit.