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I want to be like Messi and Ronaldo. - Billy Gilmour
When an 18-year-old says that he wants to become as good as two of the best players in history, it is all but certain that his attitude is special. And Billy Gilmour is a special player.
He became the youngest Chelsea player to start a Premier League game this season when he started against Everton. He went on to win the Man of the Match award in that game, but the match where he rose to prominence had taken place a few days earlier.
It was an FA Cup 5th round game against European champions Liverpool. Eventually, Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners and Gilmour ran the game from midfield. The best moment perhaps came when he nutmegged Fabinho, leaving him on the ground, and then progressed the ball as if nothing had happened.
In this article, we analyse Gilmour's strengths, and take a look at what football pundits have to say about him.
What the experts say on Billy Gilmour
Gilmour has been tipped for big things for a long time. He got into Rangers' provisional matchday squads even as a 15-year-old, before Chelsea came calling.
Brian McLaughlin, the former Celtic winger who worked closely with Gilmour during his time in the JD Performance School set-up, has no doubts that Gilmour has the necessary ability and fortitude to feature for Chelsea on a regular basis in the not too distant future.
“The Chelsea coaches spoke about Billy’s mentality,” he said. “They said it’s the exact same as Steven Gerrard’s was. Technically, they’re at the same level, tactically they’re at the same level. The biggest thing, though, is the mentality."
James Grady coached Gilmour from the age of 12 as part of the programme, and it was there that the youngster's unique ability first came to light. He said:
"I describe him as a Modric-type player. He isn’t very big but he is technically as good as anyone with both feet. He has a tenacious side, he won’t overcomplicate things. He can dribble when he has to, he sees passes and he will get it and keep it until he can find a better pass."
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane is a hard man to please, but even he was impressed with Gilmour's showing against Liverpool. He said:
“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."
Even Gilmour's idol Cesc Fabregas was impressed with his performance.
Playing style
He's diminutive yet artistic, with an excellent passing range. He's comfortable in possession and excellent without it too. He's short in stature but not afraid to put his body on the line to win the ball back. He's also quite mature defensively in spite of his raw age, which enables him to play as the deepest lying midfielder.
This is evident from his statistics in the two games. Against Liverpool and Everton, albeit playing in different positions, he made 64.76 passes/90 minutes- the completion rate was 89.3%. 17.64 of them were forward passes, and Gilmour’s xA was 0.22.
Meanwhile, he only had 9.6 back passes, which shows that he always looks to move the ball forward. His defensive numbers are quite good as well. Gilmour averages 2.90 interceptions and 8.04 recoveries per 90 minutes.
What the future holds
Gilmour might have all the talent in the world, but he'll still find it very difficult to break into what is one of the best midfields in the league. In N'golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, Chelsea have a settled midfield. To add onto that, they have the options of Ross Barkley, Mason Mount and even the returning Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
But it's also Chelsea's problem. They know that they have a massive massive talent on their hands, and to lose him would be blasphemy. They have been in similiar positions before, and lost players like Kevin De Bruyne, Mo Salah and Romelu Lukaku among others.
On the international front, Scotland fans will be overjoyed at having a midfield of Gilmour, John McGinn and Scott McTominay. But something's for sure- no matter who Billy Gilmour plays for, he'll be a star. And his time is coming very soon, maybe even as early as next season.
