Former Rangers youth prospect Billy Gilmour has discussed the upcoming season, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
Gilmour, an outstanding talent, was prised from Rangers in 2017.
Chelsea signed the then 15-year-old for £500k two summers ago. That’s a whopping fee for such a young player.
He was outstanding for the London club’s U19 side last season, helping them to the UEFA Youth League final.
Therefore, despite still having several years left in that age bracket, he’s set to move up another rung on the ladder next season.
“Obviously I’m going back down and I will be with the 23s,” said Gilmour, as quoted by the Scottish Sun. “I’ve not heard anything so far and all I am aware of is I’m playing with Chelsea’s U-23s.”
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“I’ve trained with the first team a couple of times and the standard is really good.
“Obviously, if it was right, yeah. I would like to go on loan and try to play first-team football and get the experience. Start to play in front of fans and people shouting at you.”
Verdict
The likes of Malky Mackay urged Gilmour not to leave Rangers in favour of Chelsea, arguing his career could stagnate [Daily Mail].
Unfortunately, the Premier League giants have a history of producing quality talent but failing to give those players opportunities.
Promising youngsters such as Gael Kakuta and Lucas Piazon have gone on loan countless times. Yet, first-team chances still aren’t forthcoming.
It’s both impressive and encouraging, though, that Gilmour has already trained with the senior squad.
At 17, he is far from the finished article, but the plans for next season show he’s streaks ahead of others his age.
It’s unlikely he would return to Ibrox on loan. Yet, if he gets his wish, we could be about to see this highly-rated former Ger make his first forays into senior football.
