The Scottish teenager is making progress in the youth ranks at Stamford Bridge and could be sent out on loan next season
Two years ago, the world’s scouts were descending on Rangers and Scotland’s youth games to see a uniquely gifted technician who was being watched by Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Chelsea, as they often do, eventually won the race to convince a then 15-year-old Gilmour to move to London on his 16th birthday, leaving Rangers desperately sad over losing a player they were close to throwing into their first team.
The initial fee to add Gilmour to their already dominant academy ended up costing Chelsea more than £600,000 and his arrival helped see his side win an unprecedented quadruple at Under-18 level last season.
Gilmour signed a professional deal until 2021 in the summer and the youngster is hopeful he can emulate the likes of Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi in that time by breaking into Chelsea’s first team.
“When I see Ethan and Callum Hudson-Odoi get their chance with Chelsea’s first team it gives me hope because we’re a similar age,” Gilmour said in September. “So, I’ll just continue to work really hard and try to do that as well.
“Since Ethan has been involved with the first team he has done really well and kept his standards high. You just have to work so hard to get there. I’ve been playing well for the Under-23s at Chelsea and hopefully that will continue.
“It’s different for me. At Under-18s last year, I was dominating games but it’s not as easy now. Most of the boys I’m playing against are older and more experienced and because we’ve so many away out on loan, we have a young team.
“But I want to make an impact at that level for the full campaign. That’s my aim and then we’ll see what happens next season.”
Here, Goal takes a look at the latest goings-on at the Blues’ Academy – and picks out a few names to keep a close eye on in the coming weeks, months and years…
Gilmour remans a long way from the first team with a loan move next summer a possibility to finally introduce him into the senior game.
The competition at Chelsea is fierce and Gilmour has been asked to watch Cesc Fabregas, a player with similar attributes, as he also works on adding strength to his natural technical gifts.
Now 17 years old, Gilmour is still playing up a level having regularly made appearances for the Under-23s in Premier League 2 and also the Under-19s team in the UEFA Youth League.
He is building on last season when he played in 30 games, making 27 starts and scoring eight goals from midfield across the domestic league and cup competitions. He added a further nine assists, meaning 17 goal involvements in 27 starts which is outstanding for a player in his position.
Now he is turning out at Under-23 and Under-19 level, and has eight goals and four assists in 15 games while he is playing against senior players when Chelsea’s academy competes in the Checkatrade Trophy.
Gilmour is also doing well with Scotland’s Under-21 team, having won “Revelation of the Tournament” at the 2018 Toulon tournament in the summer, when he debuted at that level in a 1-0 win against France.
He also has four goals in his last three Scotland U19 games, including a last-minute penalty against Wales, helping Billy Stark’s side to qualify for the UEFA Elite Round.
There will be scouts at Cobham Training Ground and elsewhere watching Gilmour with a view to a loan next season. There may be few his age who possess the same vision and intelligence but his small stature might be a slight concern for clubs playing in physical leagues.
Arsenal 4-5 Chelsea
Chelsea 2-3 Brighton
Manchester City 1-4 Chelsea
IF Elfsborg 0-3 Chelsea
Molde 0-4 Chelsea
Chelsea 10-1 Molde
Newcastle United 0-3 Chelsea
Chelsea 2-1 Norwich City
West Ham 0-5 Chelsea
Brighton 1-2 Chelsea
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