Jamie O’Hara has backed the ‘very lightweight’ Bryan Gil to return back to Tottenham a ‘better’ player next season, as he told Sky Sports News (02/02/22 at 9:20 am).
The former midfielder thinks Gil found his first six months in Tottenham colours a ‘struggle’ because of the intensity of the Premier League.
In the summer, when Nuno Espirito Santo was in charge, Gil was signed up by Spurs for £22 million from Sevilla – with Erik Lamela heading in the other direction (Sky Sports).
But, now he finds himself back in Spain and donning the colours of Valencia, who have loaned the winger until the end of the season.
O’Hara still thinks Gil has a future in north London and explained why he found life tough during his debut campaign in the top-flight.
“Bryan Gil, we brought him in,” said O’Hara. “I like Bryan Gil. But he’s young and he looked very lightweight.
“I think the Premier League is very hard. You have got to be fit. Ride tackles all the time and I think he has struggled this season just to deal with the intensity of the Premier League.
“He goes back to La Liga. He is still a Tottenham player. It works for us because he will go and get games.
“I think he needs to bolster up a little bit. He will learn from the little bit of experience he has had in the Premier League and, hopefully, come back a better player next season.”
It doesn’t help Gil’s cause that the manager that purchased him – Nuno Espirito Santo – got sacked after ten Premier League games.
Added with that, he walked into a team on the decline and with the supporters unhappy with how the club is being run.
Plus, it’s not helpful when he leaves for Valencia without starting a single Premier League game.
From his perspective, it is pretty unfair to judge him on the very little time he spent on the pitch.
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