Billy Gilmour opens up on Rangers transfer exit and part Graeme Murty snub had to play.

Billy Gilmour has opened up on the choice to leave boyhood heroes Rangers without playing a first-team game.

The Scotland midfielder had been touted as a star of the future at Ibrox after standing out all the way through the youth teams but he had also started to garner interest from farther afield. Premier League giants Chelsea were one among the parties intrigued and he ended up making the switch aged 16 after meeting Frank Lampard.

 

Gilmour had long harboured hopes of playing in the Premier League and it ultimately played a huge influence in his decision to abandon the Light Blues at such a young age. A moment in which he was snubbed for a first-team appearance also had a role to play though.

Billy Gilmour has opened up on the choice to leave boyhood heroes Rangers without playing a first-team game.

The Scotland midfielder had been touted as a star of the future at Ibrox after standing out all the way through the youth teams but he had also started to garner interest from farther afield. Premier League giants Chelsea were one among the parties intrigued and he ended up making the switch aged 16 after meeting Frank Lampard.

 

Gilmour had long harboured hopes of playing in the Premier League and it ultimately played a huge influence in his decision to abandon the Light Blues at such a young age. A moment in which he was snubbed for a first-team appearance also had a role to play though.

“15, 16 years old, trying to make the biggest decision – ‘where do I want to play football?’

Before that Murty snub, David Weir had been assistant to former manager Mark Warburton and he confesses they tried their utmost to persuade the precocious talent that his future belonged with Rangers.

He explained: “It was one of those things when you’re a manager or assistant manager, you want to keep your best players around. And Billy wasn’t ready for the first team at that time.

“But we also we were realistic in terms of Billy woud’ve had a lot of different choices, a lot of different alternatives. The world would have been his oyster.

“So you also have got to go and explain your case and try and persuade Billy and the family that his future could have been with Rangers. As it turned out it wasn’t, and I think everybody clearly realized that. But I think it was our obligation to try and persuade him that it was.”

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