Chelsea extend Billy Gilmour's contract - what it means for Scotland international and ex-Rangers midfielder

Chelsea have taken up their option to extend Billy Gilmour’s contract at Stamford Bridge.

An additional year has been added to the Scotland international midfielder’s deal, which will take his stay at the London club through to 2024.

Gilmour was a 2017 signing from Rangers, and has gone on to make 22 first-team appearances – mostly under Frank Lampard – and was also a Champions League winner as an unused substitute in 2021.

However he has found game time difficult to come by at Stamford Bridge and the recently turned 21-year-old spent last season on loan at Norwich City - a deal which did not transpire quite as either side of the deal would have hoped. Norwich were relegated from the Premier League and changed manager halfway through the season. Daniel Farke only played Gilmour six times before his departure and replacement Dean Smith used the Scottish midfielder in a further 22 games.

That loan has led to speculation he may have to look at options away from Chelsea – either on loan or permanently. The latest development though, suggests Chelsea may have other plans – or are at least protecting their rights to a future transfer fee and avoiding Gilmour entering the final year of his deal.

Hailing it ‘a good start to the week’ on Twitter the club confirmed they had exercised their contract clause highlighting: “Gilmour won successive man-of-the-match awards in our final two games before season [2019-20] was suspended due to the pandemic. He remained a member of the squad during Project Restart, made 11 appearances and impressed with his game awareness, touch and weight of pass.”

Roy Keane credited the midfielder as someone who got him out of his seat on his full Chelsea debut and Gilmour’s stock is also high on the continent with Serie A sides reportedly interested during the season passed.

Rumours of a return to Rangers – and an eventual first-team debut for his boyhood favourites – are never far away and a re-union with Lampard at Everton has also been touted. Lampard has previously said: “He has loads of talent. The basics of receiving the ball, turning it round the corner and making all the right decisions during a game are not easy. The simple things are sometimes the hardest and Billy has those."