Club News: Thomas Tuchel has explained why Billy Gilmour was sold this summer
Billy Gilmour joined Brighton & Hove Albion on deadline day and now Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has explained why that was allowed to happen. In an interview quoted in the Daily Mail, the German boss gave the reasons.
He said that there were high hopes for the midfielder. But his disaster loan spell at Norwich City made the coach lose confidence in the player. They wanted the midfielder to go out on loan again, but the 21-year-old refused.
We had high hopes and he played for us in the first half-a-year when I was at Chelsea. Billy did not want to go on loan, it was a no-go for him so in the end we agreed to a sale.
The Blues sold one of their most promising players for around £9 million on deadline day to the Seagulls. This sale came as a surprise to most people, with some blaming Tuchel for not giving the midfielder another chance.
But Tuchel cannot be blamed here. One cannot expect a midfielder to fail to perform at a club like Norwich and then come back and establish themselves in a team like Chelsea. Another loan would ideally be a good idea, but the player was against it.
The Scottish international spent the last season on loan with the Canaries. It was a very disappointing spell for the midfielder as he could record only one assist in 24 league games. The 21-year-old was also subject to criticism from his fans and pundits alike.
His side were ultimately relegated and he returned to Chelsea. Gilmour was initially named in the pre-season squad by Tuchel. But after a few days, the midfielder was sent to train with the Under-21 side. If this was not enough, he was also not allotted a shirt number for this season.
It was clear that the player was not part of Tuchel’s squad for this season and another loan move looked likely. But that was not to happen and on the deadline day, the Blues had to sell one of their most promising midfielders to a league rival.
More Chelsea News:
- Thiago Silva wanted Lucas Paqueta to sign for Chelsea instead of West Ham United
- Transfer News: Chelsea to return for Edson Alvarez in January
- Thomas Tuchel rates the business done by Chelsea in the summer window
Chelsea have the likes of Conor Gallagher and Carney Chukwuemeka in their squad. They are expected to perform well this season and fans will hope that they do. Nobody wants to see the repeat of what happened with Gilmour, happen with another promising player.