As I sat down and flicked through the team sheet on a bitter summer’s night in Swindon, I noticed Billy Gilmour’s name on it. I’d set eyes on him in various media outlets, read reports and viewed club footage, but hadn’t had the privilege of watching him live. This was an added bonus to the players I was already there to watch.
Having joined Chelsea in 2017 from the Rangers academy, 18-Year-Old Gilmour is continuing to make waves at Chelsea. Lampard recently hailed him a future prospect after giving him chances to play with the first team during pre-season. His stats at Chelsea aren’t much to look at, registering 5 goals and 3 assists since his debut against Roma U19’s in September 2017. What is key though is that his pass accuracy, which is at 85% over all and 91.5% in the two pre-season games for the 1st team, is clearly something he’s working hard on and a prerequisite for any budding Chelsea midfielder.
In the centre of the park on Tuesday night, Gilmour looked every part the tactician we are used to watching in the modern game. At 5’9” he is the same height as Hazard. It’s a little early to suggest any similarity to the Belgium, sure. But it’s clear to see how the Chelsea DNA runs through their various development squads.
Gilmour was desperate to get on the ball and his teammates obliged. Dictating play in the middle of the park is a manager’s dream and for the majority of the game Gilmour provided that control. He used his low centre of gravity superbly to spin away from the high press of the Swindon back line and had no trouble matching up against the bigger central players. His pass repertoire matched that of anyone you’ll watch in the top leagues. He was popping passes within a few yards of his wingers and then switching the ball to the opposite flanks. This passing masterclass was proven when he broke free from midfield, opting to stay on his feet rather than take a foul after a cynical trip, and deftly set Charlie Brown on his way to fire into the roof of the net.
It capped off a sublime performance from Gilmour and will give Chelsea staff and fans continued excitement of the quality in waiting at the club.
For further content from the site please follow the twitter @scoutscottish . This report was written by Fran Harvey who is a scout based in England, follow him on @FJH27 to see more of his work.
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