Darren Bent reacts to Bryan Gil display in Tottenham win at Palace

Add as preferred source on Google

Darren Bent has told talkSPORT that he thought that Bryan Gil was awful in Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Aston Villa at the weekend, but played really well in Wednesday’s win over Crystal Palace.

The 4-0 victory at Selhurst Park could prove to be a real turning point for the Spaniard. He has been out of favour for much of his time in North London since his £22 million move.

However, the absences of Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski presented the 21-year-old with a chance for the home game against the Villans. Unfortunately, it proved to be a miserable afternoon for Antonio Conte’s side.

Bryan Gil impresses in Tottenham win

With the pair still sidelined for the trip to Palace, Gil kept his place. And he certainly managed to make a major impact, playing a role in a couple of the goals, including providing an assist for Harry Kane.

It was the kind of display which may signal a fresh start for Gil in North London. Certainly, he proved that he can make an impact in the Premier League.

Bent has lauded his performance against Patrick Vieira’s side – particularly after struggling so much against Villa at the weekend.

“He played well. Do you know what, [he played] awful against Villa and he got dragged. It was almost like against Crystal Palace, he went out there with a point to prove and he played really well,” he told talkSPORT.

It will be fascinating to see how Conte uses Gil in the coming weeks and months. Obviously, while the January transfer window remains open, there is likely to be speculation that he could still leave.

He has shown that he can contribute to Tottenham. But it is going to take a lot for the winger to rival Kulusevski and Richarlison in the pecking order.

And once the pair are back, it could easily be another frustrating spell for Gil.

Tottenham have the Champions League knockout stages on the horizon. So Conte will need to rotate his squad. And that may help Gil.

But Gil has simply whetted the appetite for what he could do. He still has a lot to prove before he silences all of his doubters.

And you get the feeling that he will need to make his impact before Kulusevski and Richarlison are back.