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Carles Gil is going nowhere and will be an integral part of the Aston Villa first-team next season, boss Tim Sherwood has revealed.

The Spaniard struggled to make an impact under Sherwood last term and was expected to move on this summer.

But since returning to pre-season training and spending ‘quality time’ with the 22-year-old here in Portugal, Sherwood has seen a different side to Gil.

His quality was never in doubt, but fitting him into a struggling Villa side was a risk, as the gaffer explained to the Birmingham Mail.

“He is going to play a lot more football this year because we’re not in that situation where it’s a relegation battle,” said Sherwood.

“I didn’t know him (last season) and we were playing a different way.

“It was almost like we needed to get over the line.

“The team wasn’t winning so in the end the manager has to make a decision.

“I always talk about that jigsaw and unfortunately he wasn’t part of that intense approach we needed to win games.

“I needed to put players in who I trusted a little bit more.

“It’s different now, and hopefully we can get him on the ball in important areas of the field.”

Silky-skilled Gil has really impressed here in the Algarve.

His team-mates love training with him because they know he rarely misplaces passes and he has that creative spark.

Former boss Paul Lambert signed him to play as a wide man but Sherwood reckons he’s best suited just behind the striker.

“I see his best position as a No 10,” the manager said.

“Until we exhaust what he has to offer I don’t think it’s right to bring anyone else in to that position.

“He is a very technically gifted player.

“He has shown me a lot in this pre-season already that he can play and affect things for us.”

Villa have been linked with the likes of Groningen’s Tjaronn Chery and Dennis Praet of Anderlecht but the search for a new arrival has slowed down because of Gil’s form.

Sherwood said: “I’ve spoken to Carles, it’s hard for him to understand he’s not played and all of a sudden he will. That’s life.

“Hopefully he is (like a new signing).

“He has done well in pre-season, he’s come back and he really knows there is an opportunity there for him.

“I think he impressed the fans so much when he first signed because everyone else was so poor.

“He came in with a lot of freedom but even though it was working okay for him, the team were struggling.”