Tottenham: Bryan Gil admits he was NOT up to physical demands of Premier League

Bryan Gil admits he was not up to the physical level required in the Premier League despite his attempts to put on weight since joining Tottenham.

Winger Gil joined Spurs in the summer in a deal that saw the north Londoners pay Sevilla £21.6million and also allow Erik Lamela to join the LaLiga club.

He came with a reputation as one of Spain’s brightest young talents but was loaned to Valencia in January having not started a single league game under either Nuno Espirito Santo or Antonio Conte.

Conte cited the physicality of England’s top division as a reason behind Gil’s struggle for minutes since his arrival, with the 21-year-old getting just 29 minutes under the Italian.

Gil believes the intensity of training at Spurs has helped since returning to Spain, where he has started five of Valencia’s last six games, tallying with Conte’s claim that if a player can cut it physically in England they can do so anywhere. But Gil accepts he still has work to do to be ready to play in the Premier League.

Speaking to Spanish publication AS he said: ‘In the Premier League training sessions are very physical, very hard, and that has helped me not to feel fatigue now.

‘It [the physical level of the Premier League] shows a lot, really. It is a slightly higher level of intensity. I physically noticed it. The adaptation for me was difficult. It is a very physical football, back and forth. 

‘Being there has been good for me, even if I didn’t play what I wanted. I am more mature. I changed habits like eating, I had a chef at home and I gained two kilos.

‘Even so, I noticed that it was not enough for the physical level that exists in the Premier League. In Valencia I continue to work hard on endurance, physicality, in case I have to come back, to be prepared.’

So far, things have not gone to plan at Spurs for Gil, who added: ‘Every player needs and wants to have continuity, feel important. Here in Valencia I am feeling it from the first day. That shows on the field, in training, the attitude, you see football with another face.

‘You always have to be ready in case you have to live the other part, and I lived it in London. Not playing affects you on a day-to-day basis, obviously, because you are sadder and more downcast. 

‘But it is part of football and you have to accept it. And the experience in London has been good for me.

‘Being in another country, playing in another league, going through complicated personal situations far from home… these are small steps that you have to take and that make you mature. I’m young, but in football there is no age and you have to assimilate each situation as best you can.’