While Spurs fans may understandably have focused on the new arrivals of centre-back Radu Dragusin and forward Timo Werner, Tottenham also embarked on something of a clearout in January, sending as many as seven first-team players out on loan, most notably Eric Dier (who joined Harry Kane at Bayern Munich).
Eric Dier
Bayern Munich
Alejo Veliz
Sevilla
Sergio Reguilon
Brentford
Djed Spence
Genoa
Japhet Tanganga
Millwall
Ashley Phillips
Plymouth
Another player who Spurs planned to offload was winger Bryan Gil, who attracted interest from fellow Premier League side Brighton as well as Feyenoord in the Netherlands and Real Sociedad in his native Spain.
However, no transfer materialised, and Ange Postecoglou has now changed his plans for the 22-year-old as he tries to lead his side to Champions League qualification in his first season.
Postecoglou performs Gil U-turn
According to Football Insider, Postecoglou will now hand Gil "regular first-team minutes" until the end of the campaign. The player rejected every approach that was put on the table, seemingly determined to fight for his place in N17 instead.
Postecoglou is now prepared to give him another opportunity to prove himself, and ensure that, come the summer, Spurs aren't looking to find a new club for him once again.
Son return will intensify Gil task at Spurs
Back in 2021, Spurs parted with just under £22m and Erik Lamela to sign Gil, but he hasn't quite justified that exchange just yet. He's only played 42 games for the club across two and a half years, having spent the second half of the last two campaigns on loan in Spain with Valencia and then his former employers Sevilla.
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Most tellingly of all, just four of his 23 Premier League appearances to date have been starts, with two of those coming this term in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa and the 3-3 draw at Manchester City (where he came off at half-time). He's come off the bench a further eight times, and been an unused substitute on six occasions.
It feels as if things could go one of two ways from here. Either Postecoglou admires his resolve and he does enough to earn the manager's faith, or his decision backfires and he winds up on the auction block for a permanent transfer in the off-season. It's worth noting that, with Son-Heung min due to return from the Asian Cup later this month, his quest for regular minutes is about to become even harder.