Billy Gilmour’s impact for Scotland in the European Championship is a reminder of his growing importance to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The midfielder is the future for his club under new head coach Fabian Hurzeler, as well as for his country.
Gilmour was a surprise omission from the starting line-up by manager Steve Clarke for Scotland’s 5-1 hammering in the opening game of the tournament against Germany.
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Scotland were 3-0 down when he was introduced off the bench midway through the second half to confront club colleague Pascal Gross, a half-time substitute for Germany and his partner in the centre of the park for Brighton last season.
Clarke is unlikely to make the same mistake again after recalling Gilmour for Scotland’s second group game against Switzerland.
The 23-year-old, earning his 29th cap, impressed in the 1-1 draw and produced the type of composed performance familiar to Brighton fans during a breakthrough campaign.
A good example of Gilmour’s poise under pressure was provided by his initial contribution to Scotland’s goal. After a Swiss corner was cleared, he calmly controlled the ball on his chest and cushioned a pass into Andy Robertson’s path down the left. The Liverpool left-back progressed upfield at pace, with the move culminating in Scott McTominay scoring with a deflected shot.
The result kept alive Scotland’s hopes of qualifying from the group for the first time at a major tournament. If Gilmour ends up being involved in the knockout stages — Scotland will likely progress if they beat Hungary on Sunday — that would further enhance his preparations and prospects for the upcoming season under 31-year-old Hurzeler.
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Gilmour, the second-youngest player in his national team’s squad, is going to become increasingly important to Brighton.
The consistent Gross earned his place in the Germany squad as a reward for an outstanding season but he has just turned 33 and is moving into the latter stages of his career. His future is unlikely to be decided until the tournament in his homeland is over. Talks with the club are ongoing over an extension to his contract, which is due to expire next summer.
Gross is keen to end his career back in Germany. Just when he will make that return home is unclear.
What about Brighton’s other midfield options? There were signs of promise from Carlos Baleba in his debut season after signing from Lille but the 20-year-old is still raw.
Gilmour has 68 Premier League appearances under his belt for Brighton and on loan at Norwich from Chelsea during the 2021-22 campaign. Baleba has only featured 27 times to date.
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Former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi had his own opinions about the pair. “Billy is a unique player,” he said last season. “We have only one playmaker in our squad and he is Billy Gilmour. I think Carlos Baleba has that quality but he is very young. He is new in Brighton.”
The slate can be wiped clean for players out of favour when one head coach leaves and another arrives, but Mahmoud Dahoud will have to show a lot more than he has so far to leapfrog Gilmour in the midfield pecking order.
The 28-year-old, signed on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer, only made six Premier League starts under De Zerbi and one start back in the Bundesliga on loan at Stuttgart for the second half of the season.
Jakub Moder, part of Poland’s squad at the European Championship, is versatile, but the variety of roles he has filled under De Zerbi and the Italian’s predecessor Graham Potter have not included being part of a central midfield pair.
That is the position where Gilmour thrives.
He helps to control games and dictate the tempo with slick and reliable passing. He had a passing accuracy of 92.15 per cent last season, according to Opta, which was slightly better than Gross (90.16 per cent). Baleba edged both of them (92.24 per cent) but that was across a smaller sample size. Baleba made 16 starts in all competitions, Gilmour 32 and Gross 45.
Although the centre of midfield is one of the areas targeted for strengthening during the summer transfer window, Gilmour is still in a strong position to maintain momentum under Hurzeler in the German’s preferred 3-4-3 formation.
It has not been an easy ride for the Glaswegian since signing from Chelsea two years ago. Gilmour’s route to regular game time was blocked initially by the combination of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister.
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Yet the sales last summer of Caicedo to Chelsea and Mac Allister to Liverpool respectively opened the door for Gilmour to establish himself. Having achieved that target last season, he will not want his grip on a regular spot to be loosened under Hurzeler.
The opportunity is there to kick on. At his age and with his level of experience, he could become a central figure for Brighton and Scotland for years to come.
(Top photo: Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
