By George Overhill

20th Nov, 2022 | 9:30am

Billy Gilmour ready to leave Brighton on loan for Europe - report

Billy Gilmour is prepared to leave Brighton loan after struggling since his summer move from Chelsea, according to a report in The Sun.

The Scotland international was signed on deadline day for £9million by Graham Potter, just a week before the manager went the other way and replaced Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.

With the 21-year-old only making the move after being convinced by the former Seagulls boss, he has been left out in the cold at the Amex and made just four Premier League appearances totalling 13 minutes of action [Transfermarkt].

He did play 90 minutes and get an assist in the Carabao Cup win at Arsenal on 9 November, but given his lack of game time he is now ready to leave on loan to improve that.

Gilmour is also open to moving to a European club if he can play more regularly, with new Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi apparently not keen on him.

Nightmare

Gilmour appeared to have the world at his feet when he broke into the Chelsea team under Frank Lampard as a teenager three seasons ago, with man of the match performances against both Liverpool and Everton.

But since then his luck has been appalling, and he has struggled to grasp the opportunities that have been available.

Just as he made his big breakthrough in west London football stopped due to the outbreak of Covid-19, and his chances during Project Restart and the new season were ruined with a knee injury.

Lampard, who seemed to be the ideal man for him to learn under, wasn’t long for Stamford Bridge by the time he regained his fitness, and Tuchel’s unwillingness to use teenagers ended up being one of the things that eventually saw the Champions League winner sacked.

A season on loan with Norwich was supposed to be Gilmour’s chance to re-establish himself with regular football, but the Canaries were relegated after finishing bottom and he was unable to thrive in their system, while becoming somewhat of a target for the fans.

Having been somewhat unwilling to leave Brighton, it would have been the worst development of all for Potter to almost immediately exit, not least to take over where he had previously been.

Seagulls fans have been thoroughly unimpressed with the way things have gone between their club and Chelsea in the past few months, and the Gilmour situation will do nothing to ease that.

And with De Zerbi starting to hit his stride and the club sitting comfortably in seventh there is little chance that Gilmour will suddenly be thrust into a central role, so a loan and yet another fresh start might be the best option.

In other Brighton news, Moises Caicedo has been tipped for a big Premier League move.