Rangers have been linked with a move for Billy Gimour since the Chelsea midfielder returned to full fitness late in 2020 and after Brian Laudrup backed a move, he has been joined in tipping the 19-year old for a return to Ibrox.
Former Premier League striker, Kevin Phillips, has urged the Scotland youth cap to consider heading back up the road to continue his development after the sacking of Frank Lampard and arrival of Thomas Tuchel has seen his playing time reduced, in an interview with Football Insider:
“I think a loan move is the next logical step.
“He has barely had a sniff since Tuchel is there and perhaps that is a sign.
“Yes, he is a young kid but he has had a taste of first-team football at a huge Premier League club and done well. Now is the time for him to go out on loan and develop further. It will help him really kick on.
“Chelsea will pick the team he will go to carefully. I do not think they will chuck him to any club. They will want to send him to a club that play football similar to Chelsea. That way, when he does come back, he can slip in without a problem.
“At this stage of his career, he needs to go, play and develop and Rangers could be the place to do that.”
Gilmour – rated at £6.75million – would be a great fit for Rangers, it would also be a cost effective and low risk way to provide support to Steven Davis as he adds further miles on the clock, put it this way, if there was a choice between him and someone like Bongani Zungu I know who I’d be signing.
Is Ibrox the right place for Gilmour?
Yes
No
Loan signings are an effective way to assess potential long-term deals, it looks as though we’ve saved ourselves £2.7m by “trying before we buy” with the South African international but they are also an effective way to add quality, in Gilmour’s case it would allow us to have a bigger Champions League squad too – what’s not to like?