Tottenham transfer news: Brighton in talks over Bryan Gil loan move

Brighton are in talks with Tottenham over a loan move for out-of-favour winger Bryan Gil before Thursday's transfer deadline.

Gil is free to leave Spurs this month and the Seagulls are pushing for an initial loan deal.

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The Spaniard has started just twice this season and his opportunities have been further limited by the January signing of Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig until the end of the campaign.

The 22-year-old has struggled to make an impact in English football since a £21million move from Sevilla in summer 2021, and he returned to the Spanish club on loan for the second half of last season, having spent part of the previous campaign at Valencia.

Ange Postecoglou has opened the door to Gil and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg leaving the club before the 11pm deadline on February 1 but says he will need to replace them in the squad in the future.

Asked about the pair on Tuesday, Postecoglou said: "With all the players, I look at it the same way. As much as I’m steering this ship, they also have their own [careers]. I speak to players about this all the time. It’s their careers and they have to do what they feel is right as well.

"From my perspective, I need a strong squad. Maybe this year without being in Europe and obviously being out of the cups, the games now are limited to between now and the end of the year.

"But if we want to get to where we want to, then I compare us to the other clubs that we want to try and challenge. They’ve got big squads. They’ve got some pretty good players not starting. I look at it every week when they make substitutions. That’s where we’ve got to get to.

"Whether that’s Bryan or Pierre who maybe feel they should be playing more, if they made a decision that ‘I need to go somewhere else to play’, I’m going to replace them with somebody who is going to be a good enough player to play in the Premier League but maybe won’t start, because you need that.

"Pierre has played the last two games. I think he’s probably played just about every game this year. He hasn’t started a lot, obviously. Bryan has had a couple of injury problems early in the year and probably hasn’t played as much as he would want to, which I understand.

"But ultimately I’ve got to try to build a squad here that’s going to challenge. That’s only gong to happen if I’ve got 20, 22, 23 players who are all of Premier League standard. "And that will mean if it’s not Bryan and Pierre, it’s two other players who will come in and maybe aren’t playing as much.

"But that doesn’t mean I don’t rate them or don’t think they’re up to the standard, it’s just you need a squad. We’ve seen it more than anyone with injuries we’ve had."