Rangers have been dealt a possible transfer blow after Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph reported on Twitter that Billy Gilmour won’t be allowed to leave Chelsea on loan on deadline day.
The Gers were first linked with a move for Gilmour in December by the Scottish Sun.
Steven Gerrard responded by calling the 19-year-old midfielder a ‘fabulous little player’ before insisting that there had been no contact between the clubs regarding a temporary transfer [RangersTV].
Rangers were linked again recently [Mirror], though, and all things seemed to be pointing towards Gilmour heading out of Stamford Bridge.
On Sunday, he was left out of a second consecutive Premier League matchday squad by new Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and Football London reported that he would seal a loan exit before the deadline.
Yet, in a surprise twist on Monday morning, Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph tweeted: “I’m told Billy Gilmour will NOT go out on loan today. Chelsea want him involved in the first-team squad.”
“Also told Gilmour will get chances and game time from Thomas Tuchel, who has been impressed by him in training.”
As a result, it looks as though there’ll be no high-profile return to Ibrox for Gilmour, who came through the youth system at Rangers before joining Chelsea for an initial fee of £2m in 2017 [Sunday Post].
If the Gers considered themselves genuine contenders for his signature, the news will no doubt be met with disappointment at Ibrox given the Scotland youth international’s quality.
However, Steven Gerrard already has five international midfielders to chose from in Ryan Jack, Steven Davis, Glen Kamara, Joe Aribo and Bongani Zungu, with Scott Arfield set to return to fitness next month, so the signing of Gilmour would have been a bonus rather than a necessity.
Rangers could still sign a midfielder on a pre-contract deal before the window slams shut, though.
