Report: Conte wants Tottenham to sign replacement for Bryan Gil

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Antonio Conte will not allow Bryan Gil to leave Tottenham Hotspur on loan during the January transfer window unless a replacement comes in, with Super Deporte reporting that Valencia want the winger once again.

Gil has had a frustrating time again this term. The 21-year-old struggled for game-time following his £21.4 million move ahead of the start of last season.

He left on loan in January, and enjoyed an impressive spell with Valencia. At one stage, fans of Los Che gathered outside of the ground to plead with the club to make his move permanent.

Conte wants replacement for Gil before letting him go on loan

Ultimately, Gil stayed in North London beyond this summer. But he has remained on the periphery of the squad, making just one appearance in the Premier League leading into the World Cup.

Reports from AS on Thursday suggested that Valencia have set their sights on signing Gil on loan again in January.

And Super Deporte has now provided a further update. They suggest that Conte is open to letting the Spain international leave – but only if they manage to sign a replacement.

Obviously, that is not going to be easy, with January a notoriously difficult window to strengthen in for the bigger clubs. However, the break for the World Cup will give Fabio Paratici some breathing space to make more thorough plans for the window.

It would be ominous for Gil to leave again – even if on loan. He appeared to regain some confidence back in La Liga. So it is a concern that it was not enough to force his way into Conte’s plans.

Of course, he should improve as he gets older. And it has been suggested that he is a potential ‘superstar‘. However, it is clearly going to be difficult for the youngster to do enough at Valencia to prove a point to Conte.