Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour wants to leave the club this summer in search of first-team football, according to reports.
The Evening Standard has claimed that Brighton and Hove Albion have confirmed their desire to snap up the 21-year-old midfielder on a permanent deal.
Gilmour has been with the Blues since signing from Rangers in 2017 and has made 22 senior appearances for the club.
Following last summer’s European Championship, Gilmour’s stock was incredibly high after a man-of-the-match performance for Scotland in their goalless draw against England at Wembley Stadium.
The young midfielder then joined newly-promoted Norwich City on a season-long loan deal. However, his time at Carrow Road was unsuccessful. He found himself out of the side on a regular basis as the Canaries fell to a dismal relegation.
Gilmour is now reportedly keen to leave Stamford Bridge despite having two years left on his current deal. The Scotland international has not been given a shirt number for the upcoming season after being frozen out of the first team.
Chelsea have plenty of options in central midfield with experienced duo Jorginho and N’Golo Kante, as well as Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher.
Pundit believes Premier League side will no longer want to sign Chelsea youngster
Gilmour has also been linked with a move to Everton, which would see him reunite with former Blues boss Frank Lampard. However, with the Toffees close to bringing in Idrissia Gueye and having already signed Amadou Onana, Kevin Campbell believes Everton no longer need the young midfielder.
The Merseyside club have endured a dreadful start to the season following two consecutive defeats. But the former Toffees striker told Goodison News:
“He’d definitely want to be guaranteed (games). If Gueye and Onana are coming in I don’t see them going for Billy Gilmour. Gueye’s an all-action holding midfielder. Onana, his best position is box to box, a bit like (Abdoulaye) Doucouré. (Alex) Iwobi had to play in there against Chelsea. He’d done very well to be honest, he played really well.”
He added:
“But having the size and structure, and athleticism, of that midfield, all of a sudden it might give Everton another dimension. Because Onana’s a big unit. He’s a real big unit, six foot five, but can play and get up and down the pitch. It’s going to be an interesting midfield.”