Luis Enrique has lavished praise on Bryan Gil after handing the reported Arsenal target his first Spain call-up for this month’s World Cup qualifiers, speaking to Diario AS.
Eyebrows were raised when German Vaya Ballabriga, an experienced scout famed for unearthing gleaming gem Andres Iniesta at Barcelona, compared the fresh-faced winger to the most expensive player in football history.
“Right now, (Gil) is Spain’s best footballer and I compare him to Neymar,” he said in February.
Since then, the Sevilla-owned starlet has done little to suggest Ballabriga was wrong to value him so highly.
One of the most exciting and skilful forwards in the whole of La Liga, 20-year-old Gil has been the shining light in a dark season on loan at relegation-threatened Eibar.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Arsenal are one of many clubs taking a keen interest in the Sevilla-owned starlet.
And, with a debut for the Spanish national team likely to come his way this week, Gil has an ideal opportunity to add to his growing reputation during World Cup qualifiers against Greece, Georgia and Kosovo.
“I like him a lot. From the first talk I have had with him, I see him as very mature and very calm,” says Enrique, who lifted the treble alongside Neymar during his time as Barcelona boss.
“I am now going to discover him in terms of football.”
Barca-born Gil isn’t known as the ‘Little Cruyff’ just because he shares a few physical similarities with the Camp Nou colossus.
Gil skips past defenders for fun, weaving through challenges with a grace reminiscent of the legendary Dutchman in his Catalonian heyday.
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