Gilmour sees benefits of a temporary switch

AT the rate Billy Gilmour is accelerating through the age levels for club and country, it would be foolish to dismiss the prospect of a full Chelsea debut for the 17-year-old in the not so distant future.

In the long run, however, the Scots midfielder knows a loan move may be required to make him a serious contender to play regularly for Maurizio Sarri’s Premier League contenders.

A Youth Cup winner for Chelsea’s Under-18 team last term, Gilmour has continued to star since his summer elevation to the Under-23s and scored a hat-trick in a UEFA Youth League match against Molde this month.

Yet few from the London club’s academy make it all the way and even John Terry, the most successful graduate of all, was sent for a spell out at Nottingham Forest before establishing himself in the first team.

Last Tuesday, Gilmour lined up for Scotland Under-21s against England against four fellow Chelsea kids — each of whom has been farmed out in the name of development.

‘Everyone has their own pathway,’ said Gilmour. ‘Look at that England team, the two centre-halves — Jake Clarke-Salter and Fikayo Tomori — they’re out at Vitesse Arnhem and at Derby County.

‘Mason Mount is another at Derby who’s just been called into the full England squad. Tammy Abraham is the same at Aston Villa.

‘They’re all going out and doing their thing and it’s working for them.’

Simply too good to ignore, Gilmour is now a regular in Scot Gemmill’s Under-21 team and the coach admits he is regularly taken aback by the maturity and clearheadedness of the youngest player in the squad.

‘In Billy, I detect a young guy who knows what he wants,’ said Gemmill. ‘To be so young but have that clear vision and thought to sit and plan and recognise the hurdles that are still in front of him, even when everybody is saying good things about him, that shows how driven and intelligent he is.’