Sevilla look set to offload one of their brightest talents this summer in a bid to strengthen in the short-term.
According to reports from Fabrizio Romano, Sevilla are set to send Bryan Gil to Tottenham as part of a swap deal that includes Erik Lamela and €25million in cash.
The report claims the deal is well on its way with the paperwork already signed, and one of the shock transfers of the summer is all-but done.
Putting on Monchi’s hat, the deal makes sense at this moment in time.
Gil is still unproven at La Liga level, despite his fine season for Eibar of last. He doesn’t fit into what Julen Lopetegui wants – the former Spain boss preferring inverted wingers.
And a deal worth around €40million in value, when you include Lamela, is an attractive one with that in mind.
But it is not Sevilla who are getting the best of this deal, and there is no doubt that Monchi‘s decision has been conditioned by the lack of other significant exits this season.
It was already well known that Sevilla needed to bring in some cash in order to strengthen significantly on the back of their highest La Liga points total of all time.
Defender Jules Koundé was supposed to bring in that cash, with a release clause of €80m, but then Raphael Varane became available for cheaper, catching the eye of Manchester United, while Liverpool moved quickly to snap up Ibrahima Konate.
There is still some hope among Real Madrid fans that their club go out and signs a centre-back this summer if Varane does leave, but the most recent reports suggest that won’t be the case, and that Carlo Ancelotti will stick with what he has.
And so without that influx of cash, Sevilla took the first significant offer they received this summer, but their short-term thinking could cost them dearly.
The deal may well appear a good one by the end of this season. Gil, despite his obvious talent, may struggle to settle in the Premier League, while Lopetegui may well have another fine season, armed with Lamela and whoever he and Monchi decide to sign from the money they receive in this deal.
But what Sevilla are struggling to realise is that Lopetegui, however well he does, could be gone in a year or two.
Sure, Gil may not fit into the current system, but he is a 20-year-old player who appears to be one of the club’s brightest academy talents in many years.
He could have been loaned out to a top 10 La Liga club with the view of being given an opportunity next season, still under contract until 2023.
Sevilla might even have sold him and included a buy-back clause to make sure they have the opportunity to bring their wonderkid back when they are financially better off.
Instead, they are set to allow him to leave for good and purely for short-term gain, with all the risk belonging to Monchi and the Andalusian club.
It’s difficult to doubt the Cadiz-born master of transfers, but make no mistake, this deal is a better one for Tottenham.
The north London club are sending an affordable amount of cash and a player who has missed 48 games in the last three seasons alone through injury.
Meanwhile, Sevilla receive an amount of cash that will give them access to a top player, while parting ways with one of the brightest young talents of the club’s recent history.
Is that worth it to finish a couple of points better off? Perhaps one position higher in the league?
