Barcelona scout German Vaya Ballabriga, known as ‘Mani’, has confirmed the club’s interest in Sevilla star Bryan Gil who he has described as “Spain’s best footballer.”
Mani spoke to Cadena SER’s ‘Què T’hi Jugues’ program about the 19-year-old and says discussions have already taken place with Barcelona sporting director Ramon Planes about the possibility of landing Gil, as reported by Marca.
Right now he is Spain’s best footballer and I compare him with Neymar. 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. I have spoken with Roman Planes about him and he has Bryan Gil in mind. If he is signed now then his release clause is 35m euros, but if he signs a new deal with Sevilla then he’ll have a release clause worth 150m euros.
Gil is currently on loan from Sevilla at Eibar. The 19-year-old forward has made 14 La Liga appearances for the club this season, scoring three times and picking up an assist. The youngster is contracted to Sevilla until the summer of 2023.
Mani scouts for Barcelona in Andalusia and has previously helped bring players of the calibre of Andres Iniesta and Ansu Fati to the Camp Nou.
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Who is Bryan Gil?
Gil joined Sevilla at the age of 10 and has come through the youth ranks at the Andalusian side. He made his senior debut for the club at the age of 17 in a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in January 2019.
His first assist for the club came in April of the same year against Real Valladolid and saw him write his name into the history books as the first player born in the 21st century to provide an assist in La Liga.
Meanwhile, Gil’s first goal came in a 5-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in April 2019 and also saw the youngster become the first player born in the 21st century to score in Spain’s top flight.
Gil made more history later in the year with an assist in the Europa League.
1 – @SevillaFC_ENG‘s Bryan Gil has become the first Spanish player born in the 21st century to score in the @EuropaLeague. Pearl.
The youngster moved on loan to Eibar in October 2020 and has wasted little time making an impression with Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side. Gil’s featured regularly and scored his first goals for his new side in a 2-0 win over Granada at the start of the year.
Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui thinks Gil has a big future at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán and spoke about the youngster, and fellow loanee Alejandro Pozo, before his team’s clash with Eibar in January, as reported by Football Espana.
He said, “They’ve made important growth and they’re going to be a part of the future of Sevilla. Bryan, specifically, can be a reference for Sevilla in the future. They’re having a very good season.
Barcelona Trusting in Youth
Barcelona’s interest in youth comes at a time when the club are struggling financially and may find it difficult to bring in big-names. Yet the Catalan giants have also shown they are willing to trust in youth.
Starlets Pedri and Francisco Trincao arrived at the club last summer and have made an impact at the Camp Nou. Pedri has already become a regular under Ronald Koeman, while Trincao opened his account for the club in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Real Betis.
They are not the only youngsters who look to have big futures at Barcelona. Riqui Puig, Frenkie de Jong, Oscar Mingueza, Ansu Fati, Sergino Dest, and Ousmane Dembele are all under the age of 24 and enjoying plenty of minutes under Koeman this season.
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Barcelona Scout Confirms Interest in ‘Spain’s Best Footballer’