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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Aidan Smith

Billy Gilmour's brother pens deal with Scottish club following exit from Kilmarnock

Kilwinning Rangers Under 20s have confirmed the signing of Harvey Gilmour following his release from Kilmarnock.

The youngster, who is the younger brother of Scotland international Billy, has been on the lookout for a new club since his summer exit from Killie.

Gilmour had trials down south and also in Scotland, but in recent weeks he has been training with the youth side at Kilwinning Rangers.

The club have now confirmed his signature in a statement on their Twitter page.

They wrote: "We are delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Harvey Gilmour from Kilmarnock FC.

"Another fantastic prospect, we are thrilled Harvey has decided to come to the club to play his football amidst interest from a number of other very good teams."

Gilmour had been on trial at his brother's side, Brighton in the Premier League recently, but he has ultimately opted for a move closer to home.

Meanwhile, Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell would “love” to re-sign Kevin van Veen but accepts the financial reality would make that prospect very challenging.

The Dutch striker returned to the Netherlands in the summer in a £500,000 move to Groningen after hitting 29 goals for Motherwell last season but he is unsettled on and off the park.

The Dutch striker this week admitted it would be difficult to leave his baby and partner in Scotland to go back to Groningen when the child is born in the coming weeks.

He has also had a dispute with the Groningen manager and has not started the past five games, despite hitting five goals in the previous seven, with Groningen in 14th place in the second tier following their relegation last season.

The 32-year-old has declared himself open to a January loan move but there have been no talks on that front with Kettlewell.

The Motherwell manager said: “I have a terrific relationship with Kevin, I keep in touch with him, I speak to him. I didn’t just like Kevin as a player, I liked him as a guy.

“There has been contact between myself and Kevin, purely on a personal basis, because I understand he is going through a challenging time. We have seen there’s been a string of poor results and Kevin has probably been the marquee signing for Groningen, so undoubtedly at times he will bear the brunt of that.

“There certainly has been contact between myself and him but there has been for a period of time.

“Would I want a top-quality striker at the football club? Of course you would. Someone whose last act in the Scottish game was to score his 29th goal, you would love that person at your football club. I make no secrets about that.

“But in simple terms all this comes down to money. If there was an option there, there would be a lot to talk about in terms of what the financial package would look like and whether Motherwell could afford that because we know Kevin took up a massive opportunity to better his financial situation and hopefully for him it was to better his career.

“Whether that becomes an option to Motherwell or not, there would need to be an awful lot of water under the bridge.”

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