All Aboard The Billy Gilmour Chelsea Hype Train!!

Now I’ve been following Billy Gilmour ever since he was around fifteen years old but not in a creepy way!

From that age, or just before, he was already being talked about in high regard from those that worked within the Rangers youth set-up. The then Gers manager Mark Warburton had even allowed the talented teen to train with the Light Blues first team.

He was a gifted midfielder that loved to get on the ball and dictate things for his team. Billy always looked a few moves ahead of anyone else on the park.

Alas, he was so talented that Rangers couldn’t keep hold of him and before he could sign a professional contract Gilmour had decided to go down south and sign with Premier League giants Chelsea.

It was a decision that raised a few eyebrows in Glasgow.

For one thing Chelsea were good at producing young players but they weren’t great at promoting them and fielding them in the Chelsea first team and secondly, Islam Feruz made a similar move.

Feruz was meant to be Scotland’s next big thing when he joined the Blues from Celtic in 2011. He spent five years at Stamford Bridge and he never got a game for Chelsea. He did go on loan five times but only managed twenty league appearances in total, without really shining during any temporary spell away.

The last of those loan deals came in 2017 and in January of this year Islam was freed by Chelsea, he’s yet to sign a deal with another club.

Yet Gilmour always seemed different to Feruz.

Billy wanted to make the move to better himself as a footballer and money didn’t seem to be a motivating factor. Staying at Rangers actually seemed like the easier option, he’d break into the first team in no time and would’ve probably been bossing the midfield at Ibrox by now. But to develop into a better player he moved to London, to test himself at the very highest level.

The youngster has taken the move in his stride and instantly became an influential member in the Blues youth team, earning rave reviews regarding his maturity and ability on the ball.

His progression in London has led to him getting a call-up into the Scotland Under-21’s and he’s now received nine caps at that level. He was also named the ‘Revelation of the Tournament’ after shining at the Toulon Tournament in 2018.

In the summer, Chelsea were handed a transfer ban and they also brought former Blues legendary midfielder Frank Lampard in as their new manager.

Frank immediately called up Gilmour up for his first team squad’s trip to Ireland during preseason and he gave the young Scot opportunities to show what he could do.

It was then thought that Billy would go back into the reserves for the rest of the season and continue his learning curve there. But he has continued to shine and injuries have had an impact on Lampard’s squad. That saw the eighteen year old named in Chelsea’s Premier League game against Sheffield United, he would come off the bench and make his senior debut.

The precocious talent would then go one better and make his first start for the Chelsea senior side against Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup last night and it’s safe to say he passed that test with flying colours.

Lampard’s young side would thump their League Two rivals by a 7-1 scoreline (BBC Match Report) and it’s fair to say that Gilmour impressed the home support:

Those tweets kind of sum up the kid’s quality last night. He was super impressive, especially in the second half. On his senior debut, he made 96 passes and was successful 93% of the time. He bossed the game and dictated the tempo for his side. His vision to pass through the lines was superb too and he kept a level head through out.

He has the passing instinct of Cesc Fbaregas (A hero of Billy’s) and the controlling ability of fellow Chelsea midfielder Jorginho. That’s incredible stuff for an eighteen year old on his full debut.

Classy as always, Fabregas took time out on twitter to praise the young Scottish ball player:

His mature and masterful showing also pleased his boss, with Frank Lampard saying:

‘The young players have deserved to get into the team. From Billy Gilmour it was a fantastic full debut, he ran the game from midfield.’

Via Chelseafc.com

Now we can’t get too ahead of ourselves as there will be tougher challenges in Billy Gilmour’s future. But as a fellow Scot, I’m delighted to see a young technically gifted Scottish footballer get rewarded for his bravery of leaving home, going to an elite level club and getting his chance early and taking it!

I’m certain Lampard is the best coach for Billy and he’ll give the youngster plenty of opportunities to shine, when he feels the midfielder deserves and needs them.

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