Chelsea ace Billy Gilmour likened to N’Golo Kante by Patrick van Aanholt
According to football.london, former Chelsea academy ace and Crystal Palace defender Patrick van Aanholt has lavished praise on Billy Gilmour, comparing him to N’Golo Kante.
Gilmour was the star of the show for the Scotland national team as they held England to a goalless draw in the UEFA Euro 2020 group game at the Wembley Stadium. Having put in on Man of the Match displays on all of his club full debuts for Chelsea, the midfielder continued the trend with the Tartan Army as well.
Following his commanding display in the middle of the park, praises poured in from all quarters for Gilmour, be it pundits, press or current players, be it his Chelsea teammates or not.
One such active player, participating in the Euros, that hailed the Scotsman was ex-Blues star and Netherlands full-back Patrick van Aanholt. The Dutchman went as far as comparing Gilmour to French dynamo N’Golo Kante. (h/t football.london)
“Fair play Scotland, them tribal games hit differently. Billy Gilmour was basically N’Golo Kante.”
Given that Kante is contending for the Ballon d’Or this year, that certainly is huge praise coming from van Aanholt for Gilmour. The 20-year-old has been with Chelsea since 2017, having signed from Rangers and made his first-team debut under Frank Lampard in 2019/20.
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The midfielder featured sparingly last time out, though, managing just 11 first-team appearances.
Given that he has to compete with Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho for two central midfield slots in Thomas Tuchel’s setup, it is not easy for the 20-year-old to feature regularly. But Friday’s performance against Scotland could very well change Tuchel’s mind on how frequently he utilises Gilmour.
