Billy Gilmour made a shock appearance at pre-season training with one West of Scotland Football League side last night.
The Scotland international was pictured being put through his paces as Glenafton Athletic returned for their first session back ahead of the new campaign.
The 22-year-old is keen to maintain his fitness levels ahead of his own pre-season schedule with Brighton, which is due to begin soon.
And after a short break following Scotland's recent international wins over Norway and Georgia, the midfielder seems to be raring to go before reporting for duty at the Premier League outfit.
⚽️| PRE-SEASON BEGINS Pre-Season training kicked off for the Glens tonight with players being put through their paces. All our new signings were in attendance as well as a familiar face to Glens fans, @ScotlandNT internationalist and @OfficialBHAFC player @billygilmourrr (1/2)
— Glenafton Athletic (@GlenaftonAJFC) July 6, 2023
The New Cumnock side trained in Kilmarnock, as Gilmour attended the session.
The Glens are managed by former Ayr United and Hearts striker Ryan Stevenson, who was pictured with Gilmour last summer after inviting the then-Chelsea star along to training.
As the midfielder previously revealed, he likes to spend some of his time off during the summer back home in Ayrshire with his family. And it looks like he's been kept busy with football never really leaving his mind.
It's believed that Gilmour's friendship with Sam McKee, who plays for Glenafton, is the reason behind his close relationship with the local Ayrshire club.
The club provided an update on social media about the session and Gilmour involvement. They accompanied the post with two photos and videos which showed the player posing for pictures and doing laps of the park.
It reads: "Pre-Season training kicked off for the Glens tonight with players being put through their paces. All our new signings were in attendance as well as a familiar face to Glens fans, @ScotlandNT internationalist, and @OfficialBHAFC player @billygilmourrr.
"We look forward to our first pre-season fixture on Saturday at St Rochs, and the players and management would all like to wish @billygilmourrr all the best for the upcoming season with Brighton, and we look forward to welcoming him to a game soon."
Gilmour joined Chelsea aged just 16 after signing from Rangers' youth academy. A fee of around £500,000 was paid to take him to Stamford Bridge.
He spent several seasons at the Blues and made his breakthrough into the first team under Frank Lampard shortly before the Coronavirus pandemic.
Last summer, after falling out of favour under Thomas Tuchel, Brighton bought him for £9million.
Gilmour will be hoping the extra work he's put in during the off-season will help to impress head coach Roberto De Zerbi ahead of the new EPL campaign.
