Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour and Jorginho have more to worry about

Chelsea’s Frank Lampard opted to start Billy Gilmour over Jorginho against Crystal Palace. Both players have more to worry about than each other.

Since the restart, Frank Lampard has opted for a midfield that included a sweeping/holding midfielder flanked by two more creative and attacking players. To have the latter, the former is almost always needed which really leaves the job solely to N’Golo Kante. But the Frenchman was injured for Crystal Palace and Lampard had to find another option.

He selected Billy Gilmour who has not been in the best of form since the break ended. Furthermore, Jorginho was again left on the bench until late into the match which raises a great many questions about his future.

And while the two players are in direct competition now, they have more to worry about than each other. Chelsea’s activity in the transfer market is a much more dangerous specter for the two to worry about than each other.

Chelsea has already signed Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner. On their own, these two provide no competition to Gilmour or Jorginho. The players they do provide competition to, however, could be shifted in Lampard’s mind to cause Gilmour and Jorginho issues.

In fact, it has arguably already happened. Mason Mount and Ross Barkley have been playing together in the midfield since the restart which has shortened the chances to start for others. And since both are such attacking players, a more defensive player was needed to balance them. Enter Kante and exit Jorginho and Gilmour who cannot shield the defense as well.

Both Jorginho and Gilmour need to play with Kante or Mateo Kovacic to be effective. Dual eight’s ahead of them would leave the midfield far too open against clever opponents. Gilmour at least has time to adapt his game around that. Jorginho does not.

But it is not just Ziyech, Werner, or the midfield options shifting. Chelsea is not done in the market by all accounts. Kai Havertz rumors are heating up daily and Declan Rice is slowly entering the picture. The rate Chelsea is going, there may be more names than those two yet.

Those two on their own further clog the midfield. One solution to it may be to start selling current players to make space and that is the true worry for Jorginho and Gilmour. Jorginho is increasingly looking like a square peg in a round hole since the restart and, overall, he is surely the midfielder most likely to leave. He could be used to fund the Havertz or Rice transfers quite effectively. Gilmour has little chance of being sold, but his development will be cut short if he is not loaned out with Chelsea bringing in so many players.

Both players have just a few games to earn their place next season, not over each other but over the incoming players. Lampard wants a particular type of squad and a particular type of midfield and those spots are coming at a premium. Gilmour has shown his potential prior to the break and Jorginho’s brief cameo against Crystal Palace showed what he can offer, but both will need to give more to have a spot going forward.