Billy Gilmour is finding his feet at Napoli and starting to show the quality everyone in Scotland knows he possesses.
The little midfielder and product of the Rangers academy took time to settle in Naples after his summer move from Brighton for an initial £12million plus a possible £4m in add-ons, as per The Athletic at the time.
Gilmour was in and out of the side and often coming on as a sub, sometimes not even making it off the bench, but has now started the last four Serie A matches as Napoli try to keep in touch with Inter in the title race.
Indeed, after a 1-1 draw with their title rivals at the start of this month, manager Antonio Conte declared his “love” for the Scotland star.
Comments from Conte before the win over AC Milan at the weekend, as per Football Scotland, cast doubt on the 23-year-old’s chances of remaining a regular in the midfield.
But the former Auchenhowie youngster went on to star in a 2-1 victory and provided the assist for superstar striker Romelu Lukaku to score what turned out to be the deciding goal.
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Italian media lauds Billy Gilmour’s Napoli contribution
On his fourth successive start, Gilmour played the whole 90 minutes as his two midfield companions were subbed off but he remained on the pitch.
His assist for Lukaku came on the 19th minute has he drove forward with a purpose from midfield and took three defending players out of the picture as he slipped a pass to the hulking frontman, who applied the finish.
Italian media have reacted the Scot’s display with plenty of words of praise.
Awarding Gilmour a 7/10, Tuttonapoli said: “Clear and perfect in the timing of the ball that makes Lukaku happy. He puts intelligence in every play he makes, with dynamism and a sense of position”.
Corriere dello Sport rated him at 6.5 and wrote: “There are several reasons why Conte no longer takes him off. One of these is the assist for Lukaku. An inexhaustible factory of plots, he stretches the team with his pace”.
La Gazzetta dello Sport added: “How much two men help in construction. He serves Lukaku’s goal, distributes but sometimes risks too much, favoring the Rossoneri counterattacks”.
What Gilmour has said about Rangers exit
Gilmour was previously asked about his Rangers exit for Chelsea as a teen.
He said: “I was in one of the squads for a cup game at home.
“Graeme Murty’s basically pulled me before the game and says ‘Look, not on the bench, just in the squad.’
“I felt like I was going to be on the bench and maybe even come on that game. It works in its weird ways, so it does, football.
“Of course, I would’ve loved to have played for Rangers. But I ended up moving on and maybe it’s a wee part of my journey that made the decision a bit easier.”
