Tuchel reveals why Chelsea didn’t loan out Billy Gilmour

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

New Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says he opted to keep Bill Gilmour at the club during the January transfer window as the young Scot has displayed enough quality to keep around for the second half of the season.

With the Blues having numerous options in central midfield, with the likes of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, and Jorginho all fighting for minutes, there was speculation that wonderkid Gilmour could be loaned out to gain some first-team minutes.

Despite links to Southampton near the end of the window, Gilmour stayed paid, and Tuchel has revealed why the move didn’t happen for the Scot, as well as fellow youngster Tino Anjorin.

“That was maybe the most comfortable transfer period in my life as a professional coach,” the new Chelsea boss told reporters.

“I was in only a few days, I was happy with every guy that was out there on the pitch, there were no big injuries.

“So there was no need for one minute to think about bringing players in. It was the opposite, we decided to keep Tino Anjorin and Billy Gilmour with the group because I like a lot what I see from the two guys.

“Billy is very, very close in terms of quality and work ethic and personality. So we decided very quickly. It was not even a decision, it was simply clear that we go with this group going forward.”

Following an awful spell towards the end of 2020 and into the new years, Chelsea opted to sack manager Frank Lampard in order to bring Tuchel in, with the German available after being dismissed by PSG earlier in the campaign.

He has already proved he is willing to give most players a chance to impress at Stamford Bridge, and even brought back Marcos Alonso into the squad after he was ostracised following a falling out with Lampard.

As for Gilmour, the 19-year-old is highly rated at Chelsea despite his lack of opportunities in the Premier League so far.