Tottenham need to make a big decision over the future of Bryan Gil this summer less than a year after the Spaniard walked through the doors at Hotspur Way.
Spurs had tracked the 21-year-old winger for some time as he built a reputation as one of the most promising young players in Spain, his loan move from Sevilla to Eibar bringing him to the attention of many watching scouts. Gil was a shining light for the Spanish strugglers with his ability to dribble the ball and create chances, and he became only the second player born this century to score twice in the same La Liga game when he netted a brace against Granada.
Barcelona scout German Vaya Ballabriga said of Gil last season: "Right now he is Spain's best footballer and I compare him with Neymar. He can do certain things and has great versatility, as he can play at full-back, in the middle or on the left wing. It's impressive. I have spoken with [Barcelona's sporting director] Raman Planes about him and he has Bryan Gil in mind."
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Instead it was Tottenham who snared the Spain Under-21s international for £22million with Erik Lamela heading in the opposite direction. Gil inked a long-term deal with the north London club until 2026 before heading off to the Olympics, where he helped Spain to a silver medal. He made his senior Spain debut soon after with national boss Luis Enrique admitting he was a fan.
Yet the Premier League was a new challenge for the lithe winger and neither Nuno Espirito Santo, who asked him to gain weight, nor Antonio Conte handed him a single start in the Premier League. Gil made just nine appearances in the competition, totalling less than 90 minutes of pitch time in all.
He made 11 other appearances in the cup competitions and showed flashes of what he could do but Conte was not convinced that the young wide man was ready for the Premier League. In January his fate was sealed when Tottenham signed Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevski, just a year older than Gil and on a loan himself with a view to a permanent deal, and the Swede quickly adapted to the new league and lifestyle.
Gil was sent off to Valencia on loan until the end of the season, albeit without any option to sign him permanently. However, that move would have proved something of a climbdown for managing director of football Fabio Paratici, who had brought in the young Spaniard among his first group of new signings that summer.
Conte then increased that awkwardness by suggesting to football.london after Gil had departed back to Spain that the due diligence had not been done in knowing whether the player was suited to the Premier League.
"You know that I like to tell the truth and for sure we’re talking about a really good player in Gil, because he has good quality and he understands football quickly," he said. "In this moment, for sure this league is very tough. This league is different. If you compare this league with other leagues, you play another sport here. For this reason when you go to sign a new player, you have to consider many aspects. Not only one aspect, if he shoots well or makes an assist, you have to consider a lot of situations because this league is very difficult.
"You can be good with quality. You can be a creative player, but at the same time you have to be strong physically. You have to run a lot, to be resilient. The impact of this league is not simple. It's not simple. For this reason, the market, before signing a player, you have to check many aspects and not going on emotional things.
"This is very important and I hope I transferred my thoughts to my club because I repeat, I have my vision. I'm here to try to help my club to improve. In my experiences in the past, I have built good structure, good teams that have lasted over time. Also without me, also without me.
"It means maybe if I tell something and have a vision, I see the situation. Here we need to build, we need to build a good structure and create a good foundation. It will be very important to not make mistakes in the future, because in this moment many teams are higher than us and for this reason, to catch up with them, we have to reduce the mistakes. We have to reduce them, have a vision and follow this line."
On his part, Gil admitted that the training sessions and the football at Tottenham were tough for him to adapt to and even though he gained weight it was not enough.
"In the Premier League, training sessions are very physical, very hard, and it has helped me not to notice fatigue now," he said. "It is very noticeable, really. It is a slightly higher level of intensity. I physically noticed it. The adaptation for me was difficult. It is a very physical football, back and forth. Being there has been good for me. I am more mature.
"I changed habits like eating, I had a chef at home and I gained two kilos. Even so, I noticed that it was not enough for the physical level that exists in the Premier League."
Gil's Valencia loan has had its highs and lows. He impressed from the off after returning to Spain and was a key figure in helping the team reach the Copa del Rey final. At one point he had the fans singing his name and calling on him to stay.
That final brought penalty shoot-out heartbreak for Gil against Real Betis and then a hip problem saw his minutes dwindle in the season's final weeks. In all he played 17 games for Valencia, three less than he did for Spurs, but 12 of them were starts.
So what next for the talented young winger? On the eve of that Copa del Rey final a month ago, he told Spanish publication Marca that he believes he can adapt to English football when speaking about Spurs.
"It's hard because it's the first time you go out to live in another country, with another language," he said, "The pace in England is a bit higher, it takes a bit more physicality and it's hard, but I think I'll get used to it.
"It is a very broad squad [at Spurs], with very good players, they are showing it with a very good winning streak that has placed fourth in the Premier League and they have very top players. They can afford to give [Conte] confidence, letting players like Lo Celso, Ndombele or me play on loan and still keep winning. Which is what Tottenham has shown so far, that they are a very competitive team and that they are at an incredible level."
On his future, he added: "Nobody knows what can happen tomorrow and it will be decided in the summer is the only thing that I can say."
Unless Gil spends the next month transforming himself into his compatriot Adama Traore, the likelihood is that Conte's opinion on the 21-year-old's ability to cope with the physical nature of the Premier League is unlikely to change.
That leaves two options for Tottenham. The first is to sell the Spaniard and attempt to recoup their fee for him, which can then be put towards Conte and Paratici's squad building for next season.
The second option is to loan Gil out to continue his development, making sure the right club is chosen where he will play week in, week out, while also continuing his physical development to prepare him for the Premier League at a later date.
At just 21, Gil has four years left on his contract at Tottenham and a further loan would not only help increase his value but also the club may take into account the prospect that at some point in the future Conte might not be their head coach.
Gil remains one of the most talented young players in Europe and Spurs are often unwilling to give up on their younger buys are just 12 months. The players will return for pre-season training at the beginning of July ahead of their tour to South Korea, but will he be among them?
Much will depend on what offers arrive for the winger and there are not expected to be a shortage of them. The key for Tottenham is not to ensure they do not allow Gil to slip through their fingers to become a star elsewhere.
