Harry Kane says he is delighted for Bryan Gil after the Tottenham youngster wowed in the team's 4-0 triumph over Crystal Palace. Since joining from Sevilla in July 2021, the 21-year-old has had to be incredibly patient with opportunities in the Spurs side extremely few and far between.
Prior to Wednesday evening's game at Selhurst Park, Bryan had only played 136 minutes in total across seven appearances in the 2022/23 campaign. Dejan Kulusevski's injury has opened up the door for the player to start in the last two Premier League games, with his display against Crystal Palace undoubtedly his finest in a Tottenham shirt.
Looking bright early on, Bryan had a hand in three of Tottenham's four goals in south east London, most notably Kane's second of the night after picking out the striker with a precise through ball between two opponents. Having worked extremely hard on the training pitch to impress Conte, the winger has come in for plenty of praise from Kane after his starring role.
READ MORE: What Antonio Conte did to Bryan Gil after Tottenham win vs Crystal Palace as transfer call made
"Yeah, I'm really happy for Bryan. He's waited patiently for his chance, worked really hard on the training pitch. You've just got to the ready," explained Tottenham's No.10. "I said to everyone, young or old, just be ready for your opportunity and Bryan was there today.
"He would have been a little bit disappointed after the last game but he came out and showed his quality. I'm delighted for him and I'm sure he'll be ready for the next one."
It was also an important night for Son Heung-min as he ended a barren run of form with Tottenham's fourth of the evening. Still looking a bit hesitant on the ball at times, the goal could potentially prove to be a turning point in the attacker's season after only scoring in two of his 21 appearances beforehand.
"Yeah, really happy for him. He's been working really hard behind the scenes and in every game, and sometimes as an attacking player you just need a bit of luck to go your way," said Kane. "It was nice for him to continue working, he got half a chance there and to see it hit the back of the net was great.
"Hopefully that can give him loads of confidence now. He's a really important player for us and we're going to need him if we want to do anything important this season."
Kane's double in the victory has seen him move to within two of Jimmy Greaves' club record 266 goals for Tottenham. A record he is going to surpass sooner rather than later considering his stunning form in front of goal since breaking into the team, there's the real possibility of him becoming the club's all-time top goalscorer in the north London derby against Arsenal on Sunday, January 15.
"It would be a nice game to do it in, for sure, but who knows," he admitted. "I try not to think about them [records] too much. I try to just go out there, help my team and afterwards if I score a couple you guys can let me know what I'm doing.
"Of course, it's a really important game. Arsenal are top of the league and playing really well so we'll be ready for that. We've got to try to pick up some results ourselves and get some good momentum. We obviously have FA Cup this weekend and then prepare for Arsenal."
Kane's World Cup campaign may have ended in disappointment after his penalty miss for England against France but he has bounced back with three goals in two games for Tottenham since his return. A moment he will unfortunately never be able to forget about, it is something that has only made him more hungry to succeed.
"Of course it was a tough moment for me personally. It's never an easy thing to go through but it's part of football, part of the highs and lows of our sport," explained the 29-year-old. "I had a bit of time away after just to reflect and it's made me even more hungry to come back and be successful. So nights like tonight are always good for me and the team and it was much needed after the last couple of results as well."
Rather than having the summer to stew over the miss as is usually the case after a World Cup, the quick return to action following the winter tournament has perhaps worked in his favour.
"Yeah I think so, after it happened I just wanted to play again as quick as possible and get it out of my head," said Kane. "It's something you have to deal with, I'll probably remember it for the rest of my life but that's part of the game.
"It's not going to affect me as a player or as a person. I'll keep working hard to improve and it was nice to come back and get our first win since coming back."
Gareth Southgate's future as England boss was a big talking point after their World Cup quarter-final exit but the 52-year-old will continue in the helm and lead their Euro 2024 campaign. It is news that has gone down extremely well with the Three Lions captain.
"Really happy. I feel like there's some unfinished business there and he's a fantastic coach. We've been close now on a few occasions," admitted the frontman.
"I thought we looked really strong in the tournament and it was small details that ended up not going our way. It will be nice to have another go at the Euros with the same team and the same staff, and try to win something with our country."
On whether he had spoken to Southgate before he made the decision, he added: "No, we hadn't spoken. We spoke after the France game and we had a day or so just to reflect but it's his decision. I didn't want to put any pressure on him and I think he knows how much we enjoy playing under him.
"He's been fantastic for me and a lot of other English players as well. Business starts in March again and we've got another camp, we'll be ready to go for that."
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