Billy Gilmour's Chelsea contract has officially been extended until 2024. The Scottish midfielder was set to enter his last year contracted as a Chelsea player, having spent the last 12 months on loan to Norwich. His loan spell was far from what many fans had expected. However, his quality was never in question.
Tuning 21 just last week, Gilmour should be expecting more regular first-team football. Especially for a midfielder of his quality. His petite frame doesn't tell the full story of the strength and physicality of his game. That's why Chelsea fans continue to wax lyrical about him and endlessly sing of his praises. The Blues would be questioned if they were to let him go so early in his career.
However, just a one-year extension begs the question as to whether or not Thomas Tuchel is as convinced as everyone else.
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Billy Gilmour is a Frank Lampard player. He was pushed through the doors of Cobham and into Chelsea's first team under Lampard's management. It's safe to say that he exceeded expectations at such a young age at the time. Lampard was not shy about making Chelsea academy graduates the focal point of his squad development. Project Gilmour was destined to be the breakthrough needed for the player before Lampard was inevitably sacked following a string of poor results.
Tuchel abandoned the Gilmour project and built a team designed to win immediately. It worked out in the end, having won a Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup in the process. However, with Tuchel sending Gilmour on loan to Norwich, the Blues could not use him despite their dire injury saga between Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante and Jorginho. I guess Gilmour could have made one heck of a difference last season if he had stayed with the Blues.
A one-year clause extension gives Tuchel another season to decide on Gilmour's future. Right now, there is not so much to make a judgment on as the Scotland international only featured in 28 games across the entire season. Will Tuchel give Gilmour another chance to prove himself in Chelsea blue this coming season? Once the upcoming season ends, clubs will be fishing for Scotland's best young talent.
Considering that Declan Rice's contract with West Ham United comes to an end in 2024, Tuchel could be providing an initial stop-gap between now and then. Gilmour could comfortably prove himself enough to earn a new contract whilst Chelsea makes a move for Declan Rice later down the line.
There are so many assumptions to be made with a one-year contract extension, but one thing is for certain. This will be the season where Gilmour must step up and show the Chelsea boss exactly why he deserves to be in the Chelsea squad.
