Ally McCoist insists Billy Gilmour can banish his Norwich City loan issues and is adamant the 20-year old is destined to reach the pinnacle of European football.
The Scotland and Chelsea star has endured a torrid time since his summer loan move to Carrow Road with the Canaries sitting rock-bottom of the Premier League table.
But Gilmour has continued to star in a Scotland shirt for Steve Clarke ’s in-form side, impressing once again during last week’s 1-1 draw against Poland - including one spectacular goal line clearance.
The dynamic midfielder has become a lynchpin in the Scotland midfield alongside Callum McGregor and John McGinn.
Now McCoist insists his long-term future will be brighter away from Dean Smith’s strugglers south of the border.
The 59-year-old, who featured 61 times for Scotland, said: “I’m a massive Billy Gilmour fan.
“I’ve known Billy for a long, long time - I’ve just been absolutely delighted to watch his progress coming through.
“He’s going to be a top player, he really is. There was a little period when he went to Norwich and people thought the move wasn’t beneficial to him or Norwich.
“He wasn’t playing for a period as well, but he’s absolutely top-class.
“He’s got a great football brain, and his clearance off the line against Poland was fantastic.
“The way he also dispossessed one of the boys in the middle of the park and played a brilliant pass to John McGinn shows his talent.
“He’s synonymous with where Scotland are just now – we’ve got a far better group of players coming through, a real good group of players.
“Billy Gilmour is one of them.”
Gilmour has racked up 11 caps since his Scotland debut last year and become a vital cog in Clarke’s well-oiled international machine.
He started all five World Cup qualifiers against Denmark, Moldova, Austria, Israel and the Faroe Islands and looks poised to play a key role in the postponed play-off clash against Ukraine.
Gilmour has struggled for game time at Norwich this season after being largely overlooked by former boss Daniel Farke and has only featured intermittently under Smith in the Canaries’ desperate quest for survival.
But McCoist, speaking in support of The National Lottery Football Weekends campaign, added: “Of course, the lads at Norwich are struggling but the Premier League is the best league in the world.
“The fact of the matter is that Billy is competing in the best league in the world and playing against the best players.”
The National Lottery Football Weekends campaign will make over 100,000 tickets available on a ‘Buy One Get One Free’ basis for National Lottery players for selected matches as a ‘thank you’ for over £12.5million of funding they helped provide to community football clubs during the Covid pandemic. To find out more visit www.thenationallotteryfootballweekends.co.uk
