Billy Gilmour (footballer)

Billy Clifford Gilmour (born 11 June 2001) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea.[4] He was previously with Rangers, where he developed through the club's academy and trained with the first team squad at the age of 15. He joined Chelsea in 2017 after turning down a professional contract with Rangers. He has represented Scotland at under-16, under-17 and under-21 levels. He is regarded highly for his passing and dribbling and is regarded as a future player with high potential, he made a name for himself in an F.A Cup match against Liverpool, where he impressed, he then went on to make more appearances for Chelsea.

Billy Gilmour
Gilmour in 2019
Personal information
Full name Billy Clifford Gilmour[1]
Date of birth (2001-06-11) 11 June 2001
Place of birth Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland[2]
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[3]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 23
Youth career
2009–2017 Rangers
2017–2019 Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Chelsea 8 (0)
National team‡
2015–2016 Scotland U15 1 (0)
2016–2017 Scotland U16 1 (0)
2017–2018 Scotland U17 7 (2)
2017–2019 Scotland U19 7 (3)
2018– Scotland U21 12 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:17, 3 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2019

Early life

Gilmour was born on 11 June 2001 in Irvine, Ayrshire[2] and resided in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire. His father served with the Royal Navy and played junior football for Ardrossan Winton Rovers. Gilmour attended Stanley Primary School in Ardrossan and Grange Academy in Kilmarnock, where he was part of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) Performance School programme.[5]

Club career

Rangers

Gilmour developed his career as part of Rangers Academy. His progress saw him fast-tracked towards the first team, making his debut for the under-20 development team in December 2016 at the age of 15 and being invited to train with the first team squad the following month by manager Mark Warburton.[6][7] Gilmour was given a squad number and, following Warburton's departure from the club, was twice included in the provisional squad for Scottish Cup matches by Rangers caretaker manager Graeme Murty.[8]

The next Rangers manager, Pedro Caixinha, described Gilmour as a player with a "bright future" and held talks with the player's family in an attempt to persuade him to stay with the club.[9][10] Rangers, however, announced in May 2017 that they had reached an agreement for Gilmour to join Chelsea for a "significant fee".[11] Reports suggested that Chelsea would pay an initial development fee of around £500,000, with potential further payments dependent on his progress.[12] SFA Performance Director Malky Mackay had advised Gilmour and his family that he should stay at Rangers, as he would have had more chance of gaining first team experience. Mackay said, "I really hope he goes out on loan quickly to someone and keeps progressing".[13]

Chelsea

Gilmour became officially contracted to Chelsea in July 2017, following his 16th birthday.[14] He joined the club's under-18 squad, making a goalscoring debut in an Under-18 Premier League match against Arsenal during September 2017,[15] and going on to score in each of his first three appearances.[16] In July 2018, after turning 17, Gilmour signed his first professional contract with Chelsea.[17]

Gilmour with Chelsea in 2019

Newly-appointed Chelsea manager Frank Lampard gave Gilmour his senior debut on 10 July 2019, in a pre-season friendly against Bohemians in Dublin.[18] His first appearance in a competitive matchday squad for the first team came in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup against Liverpool, when he was an unused substitute.[19]

He made his Premier League debut on 31 August against Sheffield United, coming on in the 84th minute for Tammy Abraham. He made his full debut on 25 September, playing the full 90 minutes in a 7–1 EFL Cup win against Grimsby Town.[20] Gilmour was added to the Chelsea first-team squad on a permanent basis in February 2020.[21] He was widely praised for his performance in a 2–0 win against Liverpool in an FA Cup tie on 3 March.[22] He did not play much for the next six months or so, due to the lockdown caused by COVID-19 and a knee injury.[23]Gilmour made 11 appearances for the Chelsea first team 2019-20 Season.[24]

In September 2020, Gilmour took the 23 squad number for 2020–21 season after Michy Batshuayi returned to Crystal Palace on loan.[25] Gilmour returned to the Chelsea starting lineup on 8 December 2020, when he made his first Champions League start in a 1–1 draw with Krasnodar.[26]

International career

Gilmour was selected in the Scotland under-16 squad for the 2016 Victory Shield tournament.[27] He made his Scotland under-17 debut against Italy in August 2017, and scored his first international goal in a 2–1 defeat against England two days later.[28][29]

He made his under-21 debut in the 2018 Toulon Tournament, in a 1–0 win against France,[30] going on to win the "Revelation of the Tournament" after helping Scotland to a fourth-placed finish.[31]

Career statistics
As of match played 24 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chelsea 2019–20[32] Premier League 60302000—110
2020–21[33] Premier League 2020002[lower-alpha 1]0—60
Career total 8050202000170
  1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Chelsea Youth

Individual

References
  1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  2. "Player comparison Scott McTominay / Billy Gilmour" Check |url= value (help). _.
  3. "Billy Gilmour". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  4. "Billy Gilmour on moving up to the senior squad permanently". Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  5. Walker, Mark (16 October 2019). "Scotland and Chelsea's Billy Gilmour 'ahead of plan' but remains rooted in reality". The Times. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  6. Bairner, Robin (9 May 2017). "Meet Rangers wonderkid Billy Gilmour: The starlet Chelsea have beaten Arsenal and Manchester United to". Goal.com. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. "Billy Gilmour shares his delight after training with Rangers first team squad". Daily Record. Glasgow. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  8. Jack, Christopher (2 April 2017). "Graeme Murty hopes Rangers can fend off interest from Chelsea in midfield star Billy Gilmour". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  9. Newport, Andy (30 March 2017). "Caixinha reveals he's met Billy Gilmour's parents in bid to keep ace at Rangers". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  10. "Gilmour set for Chelsea move – unless Gers succeed in last-ditch talks". The Independent. London. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  11. "Rangers: Youth prospect Billy Gilmour opts for summer switch to Chelsea". BBC Sport. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  12. Yew, Oliver (10 May 2017). "Who is Chelsea new-boy Billy Gilmour?". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  13. "Malky Mackay: 'Billy Gilmour could have emulated Barry Ferguson at Rangers'". BBC Sport. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  14. Amako, Uche (4 July 2017). "Billy Gilmour signs Chelsea contract two months after agreeing to leave Rangers". Daily Express. London. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  15. Forbes, Craig (11 September 2017). "Billy Gilmour impresses in goalscoring Chelsea debut". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  16. McDougall, Mark (30 September 2017). "Former Rangers kid Billy Gilmour scores third goal in three games for Chelsea". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. "Billy Gilmour: Former Rangers youth signs first professional contract at Chelsea". BBC Sport. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  18. Bryce, Liam (10 July 2019). "Billy Gilmour makes Chelsea debut as ex-Rangers prospect given the nod". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  19. "Liverpool-Chelsea | Line-ups | UEFA-Super Cup". UEFA. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  20. "Chelsea 7–1 Grimsby Town: Reece James impresses on debut". 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  21. "Billy Gilmour: Chelsea midfielder now with first team full time". BBC Sport. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  22. Duncan, Thomas (4 March 2020). "Billy Gilmour: Chelsea's Scottish teenager 'incredible' in Liverpool win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  23. Steinberg, Jacob (9 July 2020). "Chelsea fear Billy Gilmour will miss rest of season with knee injury". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  24. "Juventus and Napoli keeping tabs on Chelsea youngster". footballexpress.in. 6 December 2020.
  25. "Contract extension and Premier League loan for Batshuayi". Chelsea F.C. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  26. "Billy Gilmour: Chelsea boss Frank Lampard hails 'outstanding' midfielder on return in Krasnodar draw". Sky Sports. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  27. "Under-16 Victory Shield squad announced". Scottish FA. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  28. "Billy Gilmour – U17 squad matches". Scottish FA. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  29. "Ex-Rangers wonderkid Billy Gilmour scores as Scotland U17s are beaten by England". Daily Record. Glasgow. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  30. "Scotland stun hosts France to record Toulon win". Scottish Football Association. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  31. "Individual awards for Billy Gilmour and Michael Johnston seal successful Toulon trip". Scottish Football Association. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  32. "Games played by Billy Gilmour in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  33. "Games played by Billy Gilmour in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  34. "Billy Gilmour". thechels.info. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  35. "Gilmour named Chelsea Academy Player of the Season". Chelsea F.C. 25 August 2020.
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