Former Arsenal and Norwich starlet Charlie Gilmour, who supports Rangers, finally made his first start for rival Premiership club St Johnstone on Wednesday night.
Gilmour was very highly rated at Arsenal and made his first-team debut in the Europa League in 2018.
However, after failing to push on, he was released in the summer of 2019 before joining Norwich.
His stint at Carrow Road didn’t work out either and his contract there was terminated by mutual consent following a loan stint in the Netherlands with Telstar.
Rangers fans have expressed a keenness to sign the talented defensive midfielder in the past, based on his potential and love for the club.
During his time in English football, he regularly posted on social media about the Gers, even tweeting triumphantly after the first Old Firm win of the current season.
Despite his free agent status for a few months, though, no move was made by the Ibrox recruitment team and the Scotland youth cap was instead snapped up by St Johnstone.
Saint boss Callum Davidson said that Gilmour had ‘lost his way a bit’ [Herald] but had a lot of great attributes and was a player to watch for the future.
He went straight into the Perth side’s matchday squad for a Premiership fixture against Rangers at Ibrox but didn’t make it off the bench in the game and has found playing opportunities hard to come by.
A brief cameo against Motherwell and a substitute appearance in a Scottish Cup clash against Clyde were the only opportunities he had been given prior to a trip to Celtic Park on Wednesday night, where he was finally handed a maiden start.
The 22-year-old played 83 minutes in a holding role as the Covid-hit Saints were downed 4-0 by the Hoops.
It wasn’t an ideal first substantial outing for Gilmour, but he’ll be hoping for more opportunities in the coming days, with a final league fixture against Livingston and a Scottish Cup final against Hibernian to come.
The bluenose’s future beyond the end of this season is uncertain, though, with the short-term deal he penned in February soon set to expire.
In other news, a boss with Premier League experience has responded when asked if he’d be interested in managing Rangers or Celtic.
