After Friday night’s Euro 2020 draw between Scotland and England at Wembley, anyone who wasn’t aware of the prodigious talent of Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour will be very much aware of the 20-year-ols after he was named ‘Star of the Match‘ in his first start at international level.
But despite his seemingly rapid rise to the top, there should be no surprise that the former Rangers youngster is shining at the highest level – he’s only needed the platfrom to prove what he can do.
Gilmour was accelerated through the Academy sides at Ibrox and was a regular in Graeme Murty’s under-20 side at age 15, before making the move to Stamford Bridge when he turned 16.
Before he agreed a move to Chelsea though, he was one of the most highly-sought talents in Europe with the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Man City and Man United among the clubs to send scouts to watch him.
Billy Gilmour needs to be central to Scotland’s plans
Despite moving to London when he turned 16, Gilmour’s performances were such that he wasn’t far away from being involved with the first-team on a matchday – and had SPFL rules allowed players under 16, he would have almost certainly made his first-team debut before moving on.
As it is, he didn’t and he had to wait until he was a Chelsea player to make his senior debut and man of the match awards on his first starts in the league and FA Cup were a promising start.
Managerial changes at Chelsea have left question marks over his place in the squad at times, but he’s forced his way into the reckoning under Thomas Tuchel and built on the early platform he was given by Frank Lampard.
Now Gilmour has arrived on the international scene, it’s time for Steve Clarke to build his team around the wonderkid and allow him to be the integral part of the side his ability demands.
Now that he’s being given that, Gilmour can go an and achieve whatever he wants in football.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
