BILLY GILMOUR will have showdown talks with Thomas Tuchel over his Chelsea future upon returning to the UK.
The Scottish midfielder travelled with the Blues squad when they set out on their two-week pre-season tour of the States back on July 9.
Billy Gilmour is seeking showdown talks with Thomas Tuchel over his Chelsea futureCredit: AP
Having ended a miserable 2021/22 loan campaign with Norwich – where the club were relegated and he was subject to fan abuse – Gilmour was hoping to impress back at Chelsea.
Gilmour had spoken previously of this being a “big pre-season” and wanting to “stay and fight” for his place in the team.
However, the 21-year-old was sent off to work with the U23s at their camp in Salt Lake on Sunday after being deemed surplus to requirements by Tuchel.
And Gilmour will now look to sit down with the German coach when they are both back at Cobham to find out if he will be given a chance to earn a role in the starting XI.
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It appears unlikely that Gilmour will get that chance given the competition among Tuchel’s midfield options, such as N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount and the ever-impressive Conor Gallagher.
Another loan spell – preferably in the Premier League – would be more ideal for the Scot to get some game time under his belt in a crucial season for his development, having been at the club since he was 16.
After shining at the Euros with Scotland last summer, Gilmour arrived at Carrow Road only to produce one assist in 21 Prem starts as the Canaries finished rock bottom.
In December, Norwich fans chanted “F**k off back to Chelsea” at Gilmour during a torrid trip to Selhurst Park, prompting his family to avoid travelling to grounds to watch him play.
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Gilmour said: “It’s the fans’ opinion. They come to watch games and pay for their ticket and they shout but that has happened and it wasn’t nice to hear.
“I gave it my all, tried to work hard every game, but it was a difficult season and of course it was hard. It was also hard for my family. It’s never nice but I would just get my head down.
“I had people from Chelsea speak to me after the games. I just had to fight through it, make sure I was doing everything I could possibly do and going out on the pitch to perform.”
Fellow youngsters Armando Broja, Harvey Vale, and Tino Anjorin have also left Chelsea’s pre-season camp with uncertainty hanging over some of their futures.
Broja, 20, is heavily linked with a £30m move to West Ham despite Tuchel claiming the striker was sent home because of a slight injury picked up during the tour.
On sending the four players home, Tuchel explained: “It is never easy and I didn’t like to do it because everyone deserves to stay but we had a very big squad already.
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“I would have loved to have had everybody here because Tino, Harvey and Billy had trained at a very high level and it would also have been nice to see them in some matches.
“But in the end we had to take the decision to keep the quality high in training so we decided for 24 players as a maximum and that’s why we went a bit smaller.”
