Napoli have recently been linked with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion star Billy Gilmour. The Football Italia website states that the Italian side are ready to make an another approach this week.

I still think The Partenopei will need to bid more than the suggested €12m plus add ons to secure the twenty-three old’s signature but I do believe the Scottish international would flourish in Serie A if a move to Naples were to materialise.

Obviously being a Scotsman with a great deal of interest in Calcio, I would personally be very excited if the transfer were to be completed.

Recent history has shown us that Scots can settle in Italy and that our players can definitely adapt to their style of football.

Liam Henderson is about to spend his sixth season in the Italian leagues. Aaron Hickey had two successful years at Bologna before making a £17m move to Premier League outfit Brentford in 2022 (Source BBC Sport). Left-back Josh Doig has played for both Hellas Verona and Sassuolo, and he could move to a third Italian club this summer with Yahoo Sports linking him with Torino.

Bologna realised that the Scottish market was a lucrative one and after selling Hickey they plucked Lewis Ferguson from Aberdeen. The central midfielder has been superb for the Rossoblù. Last term the twenty-four year old was instrumental in helping secure Champions League football at Bologna for the first time in the Emilia-Romagna side’s history. His form, before suffering from a season-ending knee injury, was superb with the club captain winning the prestigious midfielder of the year award in Serie A.

While these players all came via their homeland in Scotland, Billy would be arriving from the English Premier League hence why it would cost considerably more to get him in the door. But he is also, in my opinion, a much better technical player.

His ability to make cute, smart passes especially in tight spaces would be well respected by new Napoli boss Antonio Conte. Much has been made that Conte and Gilmour were at Chelsea together but I think it’s too strong to say they worked together. Gilmour didn’t get any first team minutes until after the Italian gaffer left Stamford Bridge but I’m guessing many a Chelsea youth coach would’ve been in his ear talking about the talented midfielder.

Billy is in the mould of a regista. He can dictate proceedings and play the ball between the lines quickly. Last season, Gilmour played thirty times in the Premier League and had a 92.2% passing success rate. In the Europa League his passing success rate was sitting at 91.2%. On average he was making over 68 passing per domestic game. Those passing stats are better than what any Napoli player managed last year in Italy’s top flight. That kind of player has found favour with Conte in the past with Andrea Pirlo at Juventus being the obvious example.

I think Billy Gilmour would be extremely motived to play under Conte after he flourished working under fellow Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton.

Billy stated this time playing for De Zerbi (BBC Sport):

“When I came back for preseason he was proper on me,”

“Wanted more, standards high, how quick to pass, less touches, everything, he was totally on me every day. But it was good.”

Conte is another boss known for having very high standards.

Also who wouldn’t want to play in Southern Italy and in a footballing city like Naples? Legends of the game like Careca, Gianfranco Zola, Marek Hamsik and obviously the enormously gifted and beloved Diego Armando Maradona have all played for The Little Donkeys. It would of course be an honour for the boy from Ardrossan to follow in such illustrious footsteps.

But while I’ve given the reason why Napoli would want Billy Gilmour and why the player himself might want to sample life in Serie A, it’s also hard to see why Brighton & Hove Albion would want to sell the midfield maestro.

He was a key figure for them last term and he has improved every year he’s been with the English south-coast side. At just twenty-three his best years are without doubt in front of him and as canny transfer operators I’d imagine Brighton will think they could get more for him in the future.

The Scottish internationalist has two years left on his current deal and if he were to disclose that he wants to leave the Amex Stadium, then that might get Brighton around the negotiating table but €12m still seems pretty low. According to Tranfremakrt, Gilmour should be valued at closer to the €18m mark.

Speculation has been rife all summer that Napoli will sell star striker Victor Osimhen and that could give them a fighting fund to purchase Gilmour as well as an Osimhen replacement in the form of Romelu Lukaku but any potential Osimhen deal has been dragging on for a while now.

This transfer saga regarding Billy Gilmour and Napoli is certainly an intriguing one. I’m very interested in what will eventually happen. But I am in no doubt that the 2024/25 season will be Billy’s best yet, no matter where he’s playing.

Posted on August 9th, 2024 by scott
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