Southampton are set to miss out on Billy Gilmour with the Chelsea starlet expected to stay at Stamford Bridge under Thomas Tuchel, as reported by Sky Sports (live blog, 1 February, 8.52am).
While former Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss Tuchel has given an opportunity to almost every member of Chelsea’s squad since taking over from Frank Lampard last week, the immediate future does not look all that bright for a 19-year-old Scot.
Gilmour was left out of the matchday squad for Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Wolves and was nowhere to be seen once again as the London giants picked up three hard-earned points against Burnley over the weekend.
According to multiple reports, Southampton joined West Ham in offering Gilmour the chance to play regular, first-team football with a loan move away from Stamford Bridge.
But Sky are now claiming that the former Rangers wonder-kid is very unlikely to be making the trip to Hampshire before tonight’s 11:00pm deadline.
There is also a good chance that Gilmour will stay and fight for his place at Chelsea, despite a paltry tally of just 34 Premier League minutes in 2020/21.
“Fantastic,” Manchester United legend Roy Keane told Sky of Gilmour last year. “As the game started I literally got out of my seat, which I very rarely do, and I thought, ‘Who is this kid?’
“There are certain traits you want from a midfielder, quality on the ball, football intelligence, composure.
“He had everything, it was one of the best performances I have seen in a long, long time.
“Just his general play I thought it was like a world class player. That’s what he looked like straight away.”
The Saints could now turn to Arsenal bench-warmer Ainsley Maitland-Niles instead.
The England international appears to have his heart set on a move to West Brom, however. The Baggies may be nine points adrift of safety but they can offer Maitland-Niles something Southampton cannot – an almost guaranteed place in the starting XI (Sky, 7.51am).
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
