According to the Express, Manchester City are looking to sign Chelsea’s 18-year-old ace Billy Gilmour after his man of the match performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup this week.
The Scottish youngster has been on Chelsea’s books since 2017 when he was signed for a fee of £500,000 from Rangers.
Gilmour’s emergence
He initially joined the Chelsea academy but has now made the transition to become a fringe member of the first team. Gilmour made his first senior appearance for the club earlier this season against Sheffield United in the Premier League, coming on in the 84th minute in the place of Tammy Abraham.
Since then, he’s become a permanent member of the first team squad at Chelsea and has gone on to make a few more appearances. In total, Gilmour has played twice in the League Cup, twice in the FA Cup and twice in the Premier League this season.
After his first appearance against Sheffield United back in August, many were critical of Gilmour – making remarks about his size. Measuring at just 5’6″, Gilmour isn’t exactly the tallest of midfielders – but manager Frank Lampard says that isn’t an issue.
“I have absolute trust in Billy,” said the England legend. “I remember when he first came on against Sheffield United and we drew the game, people questioned this kid, but I have no problem with him.
“If he’s small in stature he’s huge in personality, and he’s also huge in talent. When I look at a midfield player I have lots of questions. Do you want to receive the ball in all positions and all moments?
“Yes, he does. Do you want to make angles and pick the right pass? Yes, he generally does. Will you put your foot in? Yes, he does.”
Should Gilmore join Manchester City?
It seems a summer rebuild is on the cards at the Etihad Stadium and now, Pep Guardiola has reportedly set his sights on securing the services of the young Scot. This season hasn’t exactly gone to plan for Manchester City as they have faltered in their title defence.
The midfield area is somewhere Manchester City, on the face of it, don’t exactly need to strengthen but I think common sense will tell you Gilmour, if he joins, will be signed as a one for the future. I’d expect him to play a similar role to the one City and England starlet Phil Foden does currently.
The report, which originally came from Spanish outlet El Desmarque, said that the Manchester City boss is “infatuated” by Gilmour and the talent he possesses. If that is indeed true, that tells you everything you need to know about this young lad.
For me, I wouldn’t be surprised if this story was planted by the youngsters agent in a bid to get him a new contract in the wake of his brilliant performance against Liverpool this week.
I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops and I think the best place for him to do that right now is at Chelsea. The manager is a big belief in promoting youth and as such, he has plenty of young British talent around him with whom he can share his journey into the top level of English football.
As for his value, TransferMarkt value Gilmour at £2.7m but if he can keep up this level of performance, that value will rise significantly.
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