Billy Gilmour has explained his decision to leave Rangers last year.
Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour has told The Scottish Sun that he thought long and hard about his decision to leave Rangers, but simply couldn’t turn down a move to Stamford Bridge.
Gilmour, 16, came up through the ranks with Rangers and earned himself a reputation as one of the top young talents in Scottish football during his time with the Gers.
The midfielder even found himself in and around the first team under Mark Warburton, but then chose to leave Ibrox in the summer of 2017 in order to join Chelsea.
That move was seen as a major risk for Gilmour. Chelsea have stockpiled young talent in recent years but rarely used those players themselves, instead farming them out on loan for years before selling them for huge profit.
Many worried that Gilmour would be lost in the shuffle at Stamford Bridge as a result of that policy, and some felt that the teenager was leaving Rangers too early in his career.
Gilmour has impressed in the Chelsea Under-19’s though, and continues to play against youngsters some years older than he is, with many touting him for a huge future for both club and country.
Now, Gilmour has spoken to The Scottish Sun about his decision to leave Rangers, admitting that it was difficult given that his entire family support the Gers and he loves the club himself, but he simply couldn’t snub a move to Stamford Bridge.
Gilmour added that if he had been further in his development at Rangers, then the decision may have been difficult, but he didn’t feel ready to be in and around the first team, and need a more steady development plan at Chelsea rather than being thrown in against Celtic’s Scott Brown at Rangers.
“I spent a lot of time on the decision,” said Gilmour. “It was between Rangers and Chelsea. Most of my family are Rangers fans and I love the club. I’ll always be thankful for everything they did. But when Chelsea showed me my development plan, I couldn’t turn it down. Everything about the club was amazing and it’s where I wanted to be. I’ve got more years of development ahead of me but hopefully when I get a chance at first team level I’m one of the best there. If you really know what you want it’s easy. If boys are hesitant, if they say they want it but don’t really, it can be difficult.”
“At Rangers, I was training with the first team quite a lot. I was 15 so I couldn’t get on the pitch. If I was maybe a bit older when I had to make the decision it might have been different. My friend Harry Cochrane is in Hearts’ first team now and doing really well. If it was later maybe it would have been a good decision to stay at Rangers because I’d have been bigger, more developed. But I’m not fully developed. If I’d matched myself up against Scott Brown, for instance, he’d bully me for a full game. He’s the best midfielder in Scotland by far. Maybe technically, I’d be ok. But in terms of running about and pushing him off the ball, I’d have no chance. That’s the way I looked at it. Would I have been ready? The answer would have been: ‘No’” he added.
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