For Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour, the praise just keeps on coming. Without reading too much into manager Frank Lampard’s words, the young Scot could be close to a regular role with the first team.
Billy Gilmour ‘Deserved’ to Play Earlier
High Praise All-Around
Speaking to Chelsea’s website this week, the manager waxed lyrical about the 18-year-old. “Some people think I threw him in against Liverpool [in the FA Cup] but he probably deserved to play a little bit earlier in how he was training,” Lampard said.
“That was me being a bit conservative with him. Then the minute he got in there, he showed the replication of doing the passing drills right, being the brightest player in training, and he went and did it against Liverpool, the best team in the country.”
Gilmour started against Grimsby Town in the League Cup in the autumn. However, the Liverpool match Lampard referenced is where he broke out and announced himself. Not only was he composed on both sides of the ball, but he put in a stellar performance against the Champions League holders and champions-elect of the Premier League.
A few days later, he put in a Man of the Match performance in the 4-0 thrashing of Everton. The ultimate praise, though, came for the often curmudgeon-like Roy Keane. When talking about him after the match, Keane said Gilmour “looked like a world-class player.”
Debate whether Gilmour is or will be world-class all you want. World-class players don’t sit on the bench, no matter their age, and Lampard admits he may have held back his young midfielder just a tiny bit.
Gilmour’s Future
It’s one thing to make your Premier League debut and earn your first Man of the Match honour in the same season. Sustaining that level is a whole different story. Gilmour, though, has the backing of his manager.
Regarding his future, Lampard predicts more bright moments in Gilmour’s career. “He’s set a benchmark, he’s now got to come back after this break and go on and have the career he’s started to show he can have. I am pretty sure he will because of his attitude, his family, his surroundings are really good, and he has the talent.”
At just 18, Gilmour has shown he has the talent to play in the Premier League, and at a high level, no less. Receiving compliments from your manager is nice, but to hear Keane talk so highly of a young player speaks volumes.
At the moment, Gilmour has a roadblock in his way named Jorginho. That, though, may not be a hurdle he has to overcome for very long as Jorginho’s future with the Blues remains in question.
Having already spent plenty a pretty penny on Hakim Ziyech and still searching for replacements or additions at goalkeeper, left-back, centre-back, and striker, and this comes at a time with doubts about budgets due to the Coronavirus stoppage, Chelsea likely won’t have much money to spare for another deep-lying playmaker.
For Gilmour, that, of course, means he likely steps in at central midfield as a starter. Although a small sample size, all signs points to a bright few years ahead for the academy graduate.
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