Rangers will have a busy summer and Billy Gilmour’s name will no doubt be linked with a return to Glasgow in the coming months.
It’s a transfer story that has emerged every window with only the season that the 21-year old departed Chelsea on loan for Norwich City our only realistic hope of bringing him back.
After an immediate impact under Frank Lampard and a collection of man of the match awards for club and country, the Scotland international is now enduring a “frustrating” spell at Brighton, as told to The Athletic.
The Premier League’s model club prides itself on its recruitment and Billy Gilmour’s display against Wolves, having come in from the cold, should stand him in good stead moving forward.
Which is bad news for Rangers fans who longed for him to fulfil what seemed like a natural destiny.
Why Rangers will struggle to sign Billy Gilmour now
Brighton aren’t like most clubs, a lot of their acquisitions are made with an eye to the future, for example, when Leandro Trossard signed for Arsenal, into the team came Kaoro Mitoma.
The Japan international made an immediate impact but had been at the club for a year before he really got his chance.
That pattern could well be about to repeat itself with Billy Gilmour.
As explained in The Athletic, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister have already been touted for moves away from the Amex and Gilmour will be primed to step into midfield.
A move that promised so much has seen the young Scot’s career stall but he’s not giving up yet:
“It’s not worked out but I’m settling in, trying to work my way up. There are tough days, I can’t lie, but the team we’ve got is special. We’ll keep pushing forward and see what happens at the end of the season.”
Having signed for a reported £9m from Chelsea, the only way that Rangers would be able to acquire Billy Gilmour would be if he was out of favour, not rated by his manager or available at a reduced price and none of these scenarios fit.
Roberto de Zerbi has even publicly apologised for not giving Gilmour more minutes and that circumstance, not a lack of quality, has been the biggest obstruction.
Maybe one day, but for now, we can only dream
