Antonio Conte finally saw Tottenham Hotspur secure a top four finish this season and now he must continue building a squad that will be capable of competing in the UEFA Champions League next campaign.
But before additions can be made, there are a number of players due to return from their loan spells. Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil were all deemed not good enough by the Italian in January, and now their futures hang in the balance.
And the latter of that trio has recently confirmed he will be returning to north London this summer, despite an impressive spell on loan at Valencia, as he looks to reignite his Spurs career under Conte.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Gil bid farewell to Valencia and its supporters and expressed his gratitude for the club, yet there was a key part of his message that has confirmed his return to north London for pre-season, at least.
It translated as: “I’m lucky to have belonged to this great club. To this great family, I can only thank you for how you welcomed me, how you made me feel. I’m sure we’ll cross paths in the future, good luck and go Valencia.”
And by saying “I’m sure we’ll cross paths in the future”, it has all but confirmed that he shall link up with the Lilywhites in pre-season once more, despite reports that Valencia were considering a second loan for the Spaniard for the 2022-23 campaign, following an impressive spell at the La Liga side.
Will Bryan Gil get back into Tottenham's squad next season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Despite signing for £21.6 million from Sevilla last summer, Gil struggled to make a good enough impression during his 20 appearances at Spurs for Conte to keep him for the full campaign. Only nine of those came in the Premier League, as the 21-year-old struggled to cement his place in the side.
That prompted a loan move and a return to his homeland for the Spanish international who, despite recording just one assist in 13 La Liga appearances for Valencia, had a much more successful time in 2022 that he did during the first part of the campaign in north London.
Gil has impressed so much over the past four months that Spanish publication El Desmarque, via HITC, compared the ‘magical’ 21-year-old to Lionel Messi, while Valencia’s supporters went viral when hundreds of them began chanting his name and asking him to stay beyond this season.
Despite all this though, Gil is set to return to Spurs ahead of pre-season as he looks to kick start his career in north London, having found his confidence once again with his highly successful loan spell at the Mestalla Stadium, as he aims to win over Conte and prove his worth in the side.
However, that will be a tough ask, as January signing Dejan Kulusevski is almost certain to have his loan deal made permanent following a highly impressive start to life at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, in which he recorded five goals and eight assists in 18 Premier League fixtures.
