Todd Boehly ‘suggested Billy Gilmour should wait for his chance at Chelsea’ rather than move to Brighton
Billy Gilmour’s future at Brighton could be in limbo following Graham Potter’s appointment as Chelsea manager last week.
The Scotland international completed a £9million move to the AMEX stadium on deadline day after finding game time hard to find at Stamford Bridge and being initially left without a squad number.
Despite Gilmour’s descent down the pecking order under the German, he was later handed the No 35 shirt for Chelsea’s trip to Southampton on August 30.
Billy Gilmour made a £9m move to Brighton in the summer but his future again looks uncertain
Brighton had already tabled an offer for the Scot and Tuchel encouraged him to go and work under Potter to aid his career development.
According to The Athletic, the Chelsea hierarchy were less enthusiastic about Gilmour’s departure and held a meeting with the player on deadline day.
Gilmour was advised by new owner Todd Boehly to stay at the club and wait for his opportunity, implying that the situation could soon change, without going into detail.
That change came just six-days later when Boehly relieved Tuchel of his duties following the Blues’ 1-0 Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb.
Chelsea’s appointment of Potter means Gilmour’s future is once again under a cloud as Brighton continue their search for a new manager.
The Scottish midfielder will have to convince the incoming manager of his abilities just days after signing for Potter who had been pushing for the midfielder to move to the South Coast.
But there will also be a sense of what could have been for Gilmour who has been unable to cement his place in a team since arriving in English football.
The midfielder spent last season on loan at Norwich but the Canaries suffered relegation to the Championship, quashing any hopes of a permanent deal.
Gilmour made 22 appearances for the Blues’ but competition for places against the likes of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek prompted him to search elsewhere for first-team football.
