Bryan Gil will be hoping it is a case of third time lucky for him at Tottenham during the 2023/24 campaign. Now set to enter his third season as a Spurs player, the Spaniard will work under a third different Tottenham head coach following Ange Postecoglou's appointment one week ago.
Rated extremely highly in Spain and brought to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a deal worth £21.6million with Erik Lamela joining Sevilla as part of the agreement, the Lilywhites have yet to see the best of the 22-year-old during his short time in the capital. That is mainly to do with a real lack of minutes coming his way under both Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
Making 31 appearances in total for Tottenham, 77 minutes is the longest Gil has played in a Premier League fixture for Spurs. That came at the turn of this year in the 4-0 win away at Crystal Palace, a game in which was undoubtedly his best showing in a Spurs shirt.
However, four weeks later and he had departed the club to link up with former side Sevilla on a loan deal for the remainder of the season. Question marks still hang over Gil going into the 2023/24 campaign and his future will become a lot clearer over the coming weeks once Postecoglou gets down to work with his squad at Hotspur Way.
Attack is one area of the pitch the head coach and new managing director of football will have to look at this summer, especially with Lucas Moura and Arnaut Danjuma departing the club. Rather than look to bring in a new winger and give the team another attacking option alongside Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison, Postecoglou could look to give Gil a more prominent role.
The Australian loves a winger and his attacking front three in his 4-3-3 system could really play into Gil's hands. Postecoglou wants his wingers to stay high and wide, take on their opponents and attack the area, which is exactly what the Spain international can offer him going into the new term.
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A lack of European football next term may limit Gil's first-team opportunities but if he can impress the 57-year-old in pre-season, an increase in minutes in a Tottenham shirt could be there for him. Regular pitch time in the Premier League is the one thing the Spaniard requires as he looks to acclimatise to life in England's top flight and show everyone why he was brought to N17 in the first place.
Speaking back in October, Conte was asked about Gil following his bright cameo appearance off the bench against Sporting CP and he hailed him as a "really good prospect". He did state at the same time, though, that the winger "physically is not so strong".
In the same press conference, the Italian was asked by football.london about the player's development and he in turn compared Gil with Man City ace Bernardo Silva.
"Yeah, good improvement. For Gil it was really important to go out last season and play more games in Spain because we're talking about a league that you don't have to be so strong to play in this league. There's more technical quality and for him it was really positive to go there and play games," said Conte when asked about Gil's improvement since returning from his Valencia loan spell.
"But I'm sure about Gil future because we're talking about a player who sees football. When I ask him something in the training session, he understands quickly and also his desire is to become an important player.
"If I have to compare him with someone I can see him like Bernardo Silva at [Man City] in his structure. But, for me, at this moment Silva is physically stronger than him but we are talking about this type of player."
Tottenham's main issue when it has come to Gil over the past two seasons is getting the player up to speed with the physicality and intense nature of the Premier League. That is only going to come from playing week in, week out in the league, though, leaving many perplexed over the club's call to send him out on loan to both Valencia and Sevilla when a move to a Premier League club would have been more beneficial to both parties.
Seeing clubs such as Brighton & Hove Albion buy talented youngsters and transform them into Premier League stars, Tottenham fans would like to see the same happen in the capital. Already boasting a very talented player in Gil, who is already a Spain international and has been compared to both Lionel Messi and Neymar in the past, Spurs will only ever see the very best of him if he is unleashed by Postecoglou after Conte and Espirito Santo's previous concerns.
If the new man is to give Gil a fair crack of the whip next season, Tottenham could finally be about to see their very own Bernardo Silva in action.
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