New Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has said he intends to keep hold of Billy Gilmour as he doesn’t want to reduce the options available to him.
There had been speculation that the former Rangers academy graduate was interested in leaving Stamford Bridge on loan for the rest of the season, in order to increase his chances of being named in Scotland’s European Championship squad.
The Bears, along with Wolves, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and West Brom had all been linked with signing Gilmour on a temporary basis before the January transfer window closes but, speaking yesterday, Tuchel made it clear that the 19-year-old will be needed in the second half of the campaign:
“For Billy, I have a good impression. He is a very strategic guy, with a very high level of game understanding, very good in the first contact, very clever in positioning. We will see if he has the physical level to compete in the centre of the field in the most physical league in the world, but he is super quick with his feet, super-fast with his decision making, and very good in positioning like I said. For me, we have 21, 22 outfield players available to play in three competitions. There is absolutely no need to get rid of players.”
It was always a long shot for Rangers anyway, and manager Steven Gerrard has even said himself recently that, while he was an admirer of the player, the club had never made a move to loan the midfielder.
