Tottenham fans are desperate to see more of Bryan Gil in action after such a bright cameo appearance from the substitutes' bench against Eintracht Frankfurt. Introduced for the final five minutes with the team two goals to the good, the Spaniard did all that was asked of him and seized his rare opportunity with both hands.
Missing a glorious chance to run through on goal after stumbling, seconds later Bryan won a penalty after capitalising on a careless backheel and doing his best Ricky Villa impression as he weaved into the box before he was cynically tripped. There was still more to come from the 21-year-old as moments before the final whistle Harry Kane, who had missed the resulting penalty, was unable to pick out his teammate in acres of space in the box.
A certain goal if Tottenham's No.10 had put the ball on a plate for him, instead it was at such an awkward height that Bryan couldn't even make contact despite launching himself at it. Knocked off the ball a few times and not having much of an impact going forward in his 12 minutes of action in the previous game against Frankfurt eight days earlier, the ex-Sevilla man this time demonstrated to Conte and all inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium just what he can offer if given an opportunity.
READ MORE: Every word Antonio Conte said on Djed Spence, Bryan Gil, Kulusevski injury and not rotating Dier
Asked by football.london in his pre-match press conference about the attacker's impressive appearance against the Bundesliga side, Conte labelled him as an "important prospect for the future" and revealed that he is becoming stronger.
"Yeah but you know that for me all the players in my squad are really important. They have to show me that they are ready to help us. I ask only this," explained the 53-year-old. "But I have great respect for all my players and I think this respect, they feel this respect because in every training session my attention is the same for every single player, for Harry Kane but also if the player is White or Pape Sarr. We are talking about two really important prospects.
"I ask only to give me the opportunity to be relaxed and if I give the opportunity to these players to play, only this. Gil is really good prospect. He is becoming stronger, physically. Because he has in this moment only this gap for Premier League, it’s physical, you know?
"Otherwise technically he understands football in an important way. I’m sure that we’re talking about a player that will be an important prospect for the future. Now he’s building also, he’s improving on the physical aspect and for us that’s important."
So when exactly will Tottenham fans get to see more of Bryan in action? Well, Spurs have nine games to play before the World Cup commences and the Spaniard, who looked destined to return to Valencia on loan in the summer before the move fell through, will be hoping to get a number of minutes in the tank before then.
Seen as Conte's sixth attacking option with Kane, Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison and Lucas Moura ahead of him in the pecking order, game time is always going to be extremely hard to come by for the winger. However, he has put himself in a decent position to be introduced off the bench against Everton on Saturday evening if required.
Kulusevski will once again not be involved through injury despite Conte stating on Wednesday evening that he probably would be back in the squad, thus boosting Bryan's chances of minutes in the process. His positive cameo could in fact see Conte turn to him first rather than Lucas if Tottenham find themselves in a commanding position against the Toffees in the second half.
What Bryan really needs is for Tottenham to have games done and dusted sooner rather than later if he is to be introduced off the bench a number of times between now and the World Cup. Conte was afforded the luxury of bringing some of his regulars off in the closing stages at home to Frankfurt but Spurs' performances and results this season has meant this has been a rarity for him.
A victory over Sporting CP in their next Champions League tie would certainly boost Bryan's case for increased pitch time as they would be safely through to the knockout phase with a game to spare. Although they may still require a point in Marseille in their final group game to secure top spot, the head coach would perhaps use the encounter to give fringe players such as Bryan, Djed Spence and Pape Matar Sarr some valuable game time.
Tottenham's Carabao Cup tie away at Nottingham Forest in November also represents a great chance for the Spain U21 international to add to his appearances for the Lilywhites. A game in which Conte will ring the changes three days after facing Liverpool, Bryan, injury permitting of course, will be pushing for a starting berth at the City Ground.
All the youngster can do at present is take his opportunity when it comes his way and hope that results in more game time. Doing exactly that against Frankfurt, Tottenham fans may now get to see a bit more of the player in action than they initially envisaged only a few days ago.
READ NEXT:
Antonio Conte outlines what Djed Spence is starting to understand at Tottenham after transfer
Richarlison injury decision, Romero rested - Tottenham lineups Conte should pick vs Everton
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg explains why he is 'so proud' to be part of Antonio Conte's Tottenham team
Tottenham player ratings vs Frankfurt: Son sublime, Kane and Hojbjerg creative and Gil impresses
Alfie Devine, Jamie Donley and Will Lankshear give Spurs supporters exciting glimpse of future
