Increased competition for highly-rated 19-year-old Chelsea ace as Serie A side join the race

Napoli the latest Serie A club to show interest in Billy Gilmour

A report by Italian outlet CalcioMercato (h/t Mirror) states that Napoli are the latest Serie A club to show interest in 19-year-old Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour.

The Scottish midfielder could be the subject of a shock loan deal to Napoli in the January transfer window.

The Serie A side might also include a clause in the contract whereby they can make the deal permanent if Gilmour fits in well at the club. (h/t Mirror)

The youngster had a breakthrough year with Chelsea last season as he appeared in 11 matches for the Blues.

However, an injury in July 2020 meant that his progress was curtailed at the club. The 19-year-old has returned to full fitness and made his first appearance for Chelsea last week.

Gilmour came on in the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Sevilla which the team won 4-0 courtesy of 4 goals from Olivier Giroud.

He had earlier played several games for the development teams of both Chelsea and Scotland before getting his first minutes with the senior team this season.

Napoli are not the only Serie A club interested in signing the Chelsea wonderkid. Juventus are also said to be in the race to sign Gilmour in January.

The report (h/t Mirror), however, goes on to state that Chelsea will refuse any deal that takes Gilmour away from Stamford Bridge permanently as the Scotland U-21 international is highly rated by Frank Lampard.

Chelsea are stacked in midfield, with Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, and N’Golo Kante all getting regular playing time this season. Gilmour will find it difficult to break into the squad again given the amount of quality that Lampard now possesses.

In that regard, a loan move to a top-flight club in Italy is not a bad shout at all, and the experience Gilmour gains there would be vital to his development into a future starter in the Blues midfield.