‘Definitely’: Pascal Chimbonda says £22m player simply has to start for Tottenham after last night

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Pascal Chimbonda has taken to Instagram and claimed Bryan Gil simply has to start for Tottenham Hotspur after his performance last night. 

Gil replaced Matt Doherty in the 70th minute during Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Sporting Lisbon.

The £22 million man looked like a real bright spark after coming on, attempting to create chances by beating opposition players and whipping crosses into the box. 

The 21-year-old has only made three appearances under Antonio Conte this season, with all of them coming as a substitute in the Champions League.

Gil impressed during his last cameo against Eintracht Frankfurt as he won a penalty late on in that game. And after another promising display from the bench, Chimbonda feels he deserves a chance to start under Conte. 

Chimbonda says Gil has to start

Tottenham posted a picture of Gil on Instagram after last night’s game and praised the youngster for his display from the bench. 

Chimbonda replied to the post and said: “Gil deserve a chance to play definitely.”

Chimbonda racked up a total of 103 appearances for Spurs between 2006 and 2009.

The French full-back was part of the side which lifted the League Cup back in 2008. And it’s clear that he was impressed with Gil’s cameo last night.

Conte opted for the returning Lucas Moura to play on the right-hand side of his three-man attack last night. The Brazilian produced some bright moments but lacked any real conviction in the final third. 

Gil made a real impression from the bench and has surely given himself a decent chance of starting against Bournemouth on the weekend. 

Conte is without both Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison at the moment, so Gil and Moura look set to battle it out for the right-sided forward role.

The Spanish winger has endured a difficult period since making the switch from Sevilla last summer. He was sent out on loan to Valencia during the second-half of the last campaign and looked set to return over the summer.

Of course, he remained in north London but he has been given limited opportunities in Spurs’ first-team since.

But he’s put in some promising displays from the bench recently. It seems like the right time for Conte to give him a chance considering the lack of options in his position right now.

Gil will be hoping his display last night has earned him a place in Conte’s side for their trip to the south coast on Saturday.