Billy Gilmour changes his Chelsea shirt number in wake of Batshuayi loan exit

Less than 24 hours after Chelsea confirmed all the shirt numbers for the 2020-21 season, we already have a couple changes.

As expected, Michy Batshuayi’s loan (with a buy-option!) was made official today, but his No.23 didn’t stay open for too long. Young Billy Gilmour, who was announced with the No.47 last night, has cut that number in half and picked up the Batsman’s old robes.

Should we just call him Robin then?

Gilmour is unfortunately still recovering from his knee surgery in the summer, and will be doing so for a few more months yet. Hopefully he can return by the end of the calendar year and continue his meteoric rise from last season.

Before Batshuayi’s on and off again use of the No.23, we could spot it briefly on Juan Cuadrado and Daniel Sturridge, while it’s also often been used by backup goalkeepers, such as Carlo Cudicini, Mark Schwarzer, Dmitri Kharine, Nick Colgan, or Dave Beasant. Current assistant manager Jody Morris also wore it in his debut season in 1995-96, which is a nice analog to follow for young Billy G.