Back in December, ESPN were reporting that Chelsea were closing in on the signing of Rangers’ hot prospect Billy Gilmour. Citing sources in both clubs, ESPN claimed that Chelsea’s £500,000 bid was enough to see off competition from the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and even Barcelona. Billy Gilmour, all of of 15 years old, is apparently that good.
(If that bid seems low that’s because Gilmour’s contract is up in the summer, so Rangers decided to cash in for at least a token amount rather than lose him free.)
Three months have passed since without much of a word from either camp, but here’s Nizaar Kinsella of Goal to report that the agreement between Chelsea and Rangers has finally been reached for the aforementioned £500k.
Chelsea set to win race to sign Rangers wonderkid Billy Gilmour: https://t.co/plSDNjouFd #CFC
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) March 27, 2017
Gilmour will see out the season at Gers partly because that makes sense and partly because he’s still just 15 and FIFA rules mandate that he can’t move until he turns 16 in June.
By all accounts, Gilmour is a very talented young kid, but of course being good at 16 is not a guarantee of being good later. For now, here’s a highlights video.