Gilmour left Graeme Murty’s Rangers to move south of the border last summer, and believes he’s improving away from Ibrox.
Former Rangers prodigy Billy Gilmour appears to have no regrets about swapping Ibrox for Chelsea last summer.
Gilmour was plucked from Rangers’ academy by the then English Premier League champions, whose youth teams the 16-year-old has shone for this season.
His coach at Cobham, Chelsea’s Surrey training complex, is the one-time Blues and St Johnstone midfielder Jody Morris, who has already called on former teammates John Terry and Frank Lampard to help advise Gilmour and co.
And Gilmour has already trained with Antonio Conte’s first team, whose players – with all due respect to their Rangers counterparts – are of a considerably higher quality than those with whom he practiced at Ibrox.
“I think I’ve definitely improved by exposure to playing with and against older boys,” the Ardrossan native said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun. “I can’t really speak any higher of the lengths Chelsea have gone to with me.”
He added: “I’m really, really enjoying it. I’ll always be grateful for the time I spent at Rangers because so many people worked so hard to help me improve as a player – just like they did within my Performance School. But I do feel as if I’m improving all the time.
“Chelsea provide you with a million different ways to develop on and off the pitch but I think the key thing is that you have to make the most of it.
“Nothing is laid out on a plate for you. You have to earn it and prove yourself every day.”
Gilmour is currently on duty with Scotland’s Under-17s, along with his former Rangers colleagues Nathan Patterson and Dapo Mebude.
Brian McLaughlin’s side were beaten 2-1 by Norway on Saturday and are due to face Germany on Tuesday.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
