Billy Gilmour is the one that got away for Rangers, the academy product who has gone on to star in one of the best leagues in the world and be a regular at international level.
The former Auchenhowie kid had a sliding doors moment with the club in turmoil and Graeme Murty as interim manager, it could all have been so different.
He came that close to playing for the first team that he had a strip made up only for Billy Gilmour to be given the news that he wasn’t in the squad, the 22-year old recalling in an SFA documentary a typical Jimmy Bell moment from the much loved, and missed, kitman.
Billy Gilmour recalls Rangers kit and Jimmy Bell memory
Now at Brighton, the diminutive midfielder is punching above his weight having found a manager who appreciates him.
Despite the early praise and accolades at Chelsea, he remains level-headed, with Bell playing a key role in keeping his feet on the ground.
“See with this kit, that top, Jimmy Bell was the kitman and when I was leaving to go to Chelsea, I tried to take my top after the game, Jimmy took it off me straight away – ‘you’ve not played a game for Rangers’.
“When I was leaving, he said, ‘going to Chelsea?’
“And I was like ‘aye’ and he was like ‘I’ve got a present for you’, and he gave me the top.”
Bell, in his own inimitable style then told Gilmour where to go….
There are so many stories like this one, players who asked for extra kit or for a favour only to be met with a swift rebutal.
Billy Gilmour might not have played for Rangers but it always seemed like a matter of circumstance rather than quality or because the club didn’t rate him.
He should have been our youngest ever player and would have been a worth recipient of the tag.
Over the last couple of seasons, it seemed as if a return might be on the cards.
First of all, when he was out of favour at Chelsea and secondly, after he spent a season on loan at Norwich City and saw his reputation take a dent.
There were murmurs not long after he signed for Brighton but the south coast outfit are more patient than most when it comes to introducing players into the first-team.
They also had Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo in midfield.
Gilmour still holds Rangers at heart and it would feel like a bit of a travesty if at one point he doesn’t get to pull on the famous jersey.
And there would be nobody prouder than Jimmy Bell.
