Arsenal missed out on the chance to sign Bryan Gil for just £3.5 million as the Sevilla winger closes in on a move to Premier League and London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, as reported by Goal Espana.
Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
In a single swoop, Fabio Paratici has found a way to get one of Tottenham’s biggest earners off the wage bill, while bringing in a young forward simply brimming with potential.
20-year-old Gil was labelled ‘Spain’s best footballer’ as recently as February and those comparisons with the legendary Johan Cryuff go beyond his haircut.
The ‘Beatle of Barbate’ is an absolute joy to watch in full flow, decisive and dextrous, elegant and efficient.
The prospect of Gil forming a partnership with his one-time Sevilla teammate Sergio Reguilon down the left-hand side of Nuno Espirito Santo’s attack is simply drool-inducing.
Is Spurs’ gain Arsenal’s loss with Bryan Gil?
The Spain U21 international had been linked with a move to Tottenham’s local rivals Arsenal earlier in the year, impressing the Gunners’ scouts during a superb loan spell at Eibar.
But it seems that Arsenal’s interest in the Catalan-born schemer goes back quite a while, long before he was strutting his stuff under Jose Luis Mendilibar at Ipurua.
According to Goal, the three-time Premier League winners tried and failed to sign a teenage Gil back in 2018, before he had even made his La Liga debut in Sevilla colours.
Arsenal launched a bid of £3.5 million late that year. Sevilla refused, however, obviously feeling that Gil would be worth far more with a couple of seasons of senior football under his belt.
Two-and-a-half years later, that decision looks inspired.
Tottenham are set to pay £22 million up front for Gil, the inclusion of Lamela in a player-plus-cash deal helping drive down the price of a man Sevilla value in the region of £40 million (Estadio Deportivo).
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