Chelsea are reportedly hoping to prise Rangers talent Billy Gilmour away from Ibrox.
According to The Scottish Sun, Chelsea are stepping up their interest in Rangers teenager Billy Gilmour – but can’t sign him until June 2017.
Rangers have been hoping to bring through more young players under Mark Warburton, and whilst the likes of Liam Burt, Jamie Barjonas and Serge Atakayi are tipped for bright futures, Gilmour has grabbed the headlines in recent weeks.
General view outside Ibrox
An unnamed coach was quoted by the Daily Record as saying that Gilmour is so good that he’ll play for Rangers’ first team by the age of 17, having witnessed him starring for Scotland’s Under-16’s against Northern Ireland last month.
Gilmour appears to be attracting interest too, as the Daily Record also reported that Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Southampton and Tottenham are all keen to land the 15-year-old midfielder.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Now though, The Scottish Sun claim that Chelsea are leading the race for Gilmour’s signature, and are ready to step up their interest in the young Scot in 2017.
The Blues allegedly see Gilmour as a star of the future, and subsequently hope that they can beat a host of other clubs to his signature, but they’ll have to wait if they do want to land Gilmour.
Given that he only turns 16 in June 2017, Rangers are protected against losing Gilmour until his next birthday, but FIFA rules mean that if he leaves to join a club outside of Scotland, that would cost a team just £100,000.
Barcelona and Bayern Munich are also believed to be keen on Gilmour, but Chelsea – who famously raided Celtic for a top Scottish talent in Islam Feruz back in 2011 – are seemingly preparing a move to land the teenager in 2017.
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