Lionel Messi has scored 12 times in Barcelona's last 12 trips to Sevilla in La Liga
Lionel Messi has scored 12 times in Barcelona's last 12 trips to Sevilla in La Liga AFP / CRISTINA QUICLER

Tottenham’s newest signing already has an array of recognitions to his name that some are not aware of.

The Spurs are looking forward to a resurgent 2021-22 season. While a new deal for Harry Kane is still hanging, the club has begun recruiting reinforcements that could intensify its attack.

Among the club’s latest additions is Spanish winger Bryan Gil.

Tottenham has signed Gil from La Liga side Sevilla on a five-year contract, the club announced on Monday.

Many may have not heard of him, but Gil has been silently exceptional in La Liga. Aside from an impressive loan spell at Eibar, the 20-year-old also recorded the same number of nutmegs as Barcelona’s Messi in La Liga last season, according to Talksport.

Ahead of his Tottenham debut, Gil is being tipped to humiliate opponents in the English Premier League alongside Kane, who was the league’s sixth-most prolific nutmegger last season.

Gil, meanwhile, finished seventh in the Spanish top-flight together with Messi, the report said.

What’s even more interesting is that Gil has also been drawing comparisons to some of the best forwards in the sport.

According to German “Mani” Vaya Ballabriga, the seasoned Barcelona scout who also brought Andres Iniesta and Ansu Fati to Camp Nou, Gil is currently “the best footballer” in Spain at the moment and his game fairly resembles that of the Brazilian superstar Neymar.

"Right now he is Spain's best footballer and I compare him with Neymar," Mani told Cadena SER's “Què T'hi Jugues” of Gil earlier this year. "He can do certain things and has great versatility, as he can play at full-back in the middle or on the left-wing. It's impressive.”

Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain are Ligue 1's big draw for broadcasters

Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain are Ligue 1's big draw for broadcasters Photo: AFP / FRANCK FIFE

La Liga expert Alvaro Montero, on the other hand, has likened the youngster to the late Arsenal legend Jose Antonio Reyes, an efficient winger who moved to north London from Sevilla just like Gil.

“He’s a very good player,” Montero recently told Sky Sports of Gil. “He’s very quick. He plays very well in attack as a left-footer. He is one of those players like Jose Antonio Reyes when he arrived from Sevilla to Arsenal.”

“One of those players that dribbles, very quick and I think the Premier League will be perfect for him. As far as I know, Sergio Reguilon recommends the signing of Bryan Gil because he knows him from the Spanish side, U21s and U18s. It’s a very good signing, for sure.”