Billy Gilmour was touted as one of the most talented young players in the Premier League last season. Even though he was in a team full of extraordinary talent, he still managed to earn five appearances in the league last season, including a start at the Etihad Stadium against the reigning English top flight champions. He played a full 90 minutes and Chelsea even won the game 2-1. His development was going well and the Blues were certain that Gilmour would be one for the future. He was loaned out to Norwich City for further development.
However, that seems to have failed thus far and his parent club could be looking to bring the player back in January if things don’t turnaround. The Canaries have only won once in their last 11 domestic matches and Gilmour hasn’t played in a match since September. Therefore it is easy to say that his move to the former Championship side has been a complete disaster.
Chelsea could bring back Billy Gilmour in January if the new manager does not include him in the team.
Norwich could not pick up enough momentum to hang with England’s premier competition under the leadership of Daniel Farke. Slowly, the Canaries and all of their players lost all motivation. Losing match after match was not easy and thus, Farke chose to play the club’s more experienced players in hopes of surviving and staying up this season. This plan excluded Gilmour and the Chelsea youngster spent game after game riding on the bench—albeit unfair, this was Farke’s attempt at turning things around.
Farke had talked about Gilmour before the move was made. Thomas Tuchel, who worked with his fellow German at Dortmund, agreed the move would be beneficial to Gilmour’s development. However, the former Norwich manager stated that Norwich was not a club for developing players for other teams and that the Canaries would be focusing on their own players more in an effort to win games. The German gaffer stuck true to his words. This is evident in the Champions League winner only playing six games in all competitions so far.
Farke was recently sacked though and thus, things might improve for the youngster. However, his situation might also get worse. At the moment, his time sitting on the bench has made him rusty and the international break can help him a bit. Chelsea and Gilmour were handed a lifeline in the rumors of Frank Lampard’s interest in the Canaries’ opening. However, on Friday, the former Blues boss took his hat out of the ring. Norwich still has not decided on a manager.
Nevertheless, if the new manager chooses to ignore the young talent as Farke did, Tuchel will most likely try to bring him back in January. The 20-year-old has been already compared to the likes of Andreas Iniesta at the age of just 18 and he is an important piece of the Blues’ future. Young players are sent on loan to get precious game time that they cannot get at their parent club. However, if they are ignored by their temporary side, that could be a huge detriment and one which Tuchel will not be risking.
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