By Alan Hutton

28th Nov, 2023 | 6:40pm

Tottenham expert stunned by Bryan Gil - 'I didn't expect it at all'

Bryan Gil was a surprise starter for Tottenham but performed well despite their 2-1 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday (26 November).

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Spurs and Scotland defender Alan Hutton revealed he couldn’t believe the 22-year-old was in the team but believes he could bring a missing “spark” to Ange Postecoglou’s side amid their injury problems.

Gil made his first start of the season following his early-season injury setbacks but had made two substitute appearances before the weekend clash against Crystal Palace and Wolves.

Tottenham suffered their third-consecutive Premier League defeat against Unai Emery’s side and have slipped from top to fifth in the table, with Villa leapfrogging them into a Champions League spot.

Hutton feels it would be harsh to judge Gil too much considering his lack of minutes this season, but feels he could cause problems for opponents.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” he told Football Insider.

“Gil’s come on in the past and he definitely has the ability to cause defenders problems.

“He can see a pass as well, so if Tottenham are looking for that creative spark, it could be him.

“We can’t really judge him on this performance. People will claim that this was his opportunity, but he played well at times but he definitely needs a run of games.

“You can’t expect someone to come in from the cold and be unbelievable – it very rarely happens.

“So if he gets that opportunity to shine, I think he can but it’s harsh to judge him on this one performance.”

In other news, Kieran Maguire claims Tottenham could land devastating ‘competition ban’ as Defoe case ‘becomes warmer’.