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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Aidan Macdonald

Simon Donnelly in Billy Gilmour Chelsea 'should have kept him' statement

Billy Gilmour

Simon Donnelly feels Chelsea 'should have kept' Billy Gilmour.

The ex-Celtic player feels that the Brighton midfielder has lost a bit of momentum due to a variety of reasons.

Firstly, he struggled to get in the Chelsea team after the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, who has since been sacked.

Then there was a failed loan move to Norwich, which saw him unable to get regular game time as the Canaries were relegated.

He has since moved to Brighton and was signed by Graham Potter near the end of the transfer window.

However, soon after he arrived at the Seasiders, the Englishman departed for the Stamford Bridge side. 

And the former Dundee United assistant coach made clear he has sympathy for the 21-year-old.

"I feel bad for Gilmour," he said.

"I remember the game he had for Chelsea against Liverpool, and I thought 'this kid is playing with a cigar', he knew exactly what he was doing and played a lot older than he was.

"He has performed brilliantly at his time with Scotland, he was superb against England at Wembley. 

"The move to Norwich didn't really work, now his move to Brighton so he can play under Potter but he goes the other way, I do feel bad for him.

"Is the philosophy going to change at Brighton, and if so, is there a place for Gilmour there?

"That's my only worry."

However, despite the unfortunate circumstances, Donnelly was keen to stress that the midfielder has all the ability in the world.

The 47-year-old feels that he just needs to find the right team.

He continued: "There's no worry about Gilmour's ability and quality, he just needs to find the right team to start performing.

"I wish Chelsea held onto him and gave him a chance to break through there.

"He needs to play, that's why he wasn't in the Scotland team, because he hasn't played enough."

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