Three big questions: Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour and the pipeline

3. What is his best role?

It has already been mentioned that Gilmour is comfortable in any of the formations Chelsea might play next season. He can play anywhere in a midfield trio (either with a single or double pivot) and he can even play well in a midfield pair. Other Chelsea midfielders can say the same, but none have the same upside as Gilmour.

In addition, Gilmour’s style is not so easy to pin down. On paper, he looks like a standard deep lying playmaker. But he also presses quite aggressively and is not afraid to chase a player down for the ball. He also is pretty good at moving up and down the pitch, showing he is unafraid to stay in deep areas to contribute.

So, realistically, there is no role to shoehorn him into. He does not need to just be a deep lying player marker or a box to box midfielder. And that may be the biggest benefit he brings when he returns.

Gilmour is a lot like Kovacic in the sense that he can do a great many things well and that allows him to be partnered with nearly any other midfielder in the squad. That is a flexibility Lampard will not find in really any other midfielder he has. The rest are all more suited to certain styles and roles whereas Gilmour and Kovacic can plug in anywhere.

Ultimately though, if a role had to be defined for Gilmour, he could develop into a great defensive midfielder in the mould of Sergio Busquets. He has the positionally knowledge to know where the play is going to go before it does and he has just enough defensive ability to shield the backline. His passing is sublime for such a young player and he could fulfil a role that Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic had to play together to accomplish.

What questions do you think need to be asked of Billy Gilmour ahead of next season? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!