It’s not completely uncommon to see young players become a regular for their country before they establish themselves at club level, but it often depends on the national manager.
Billy Gilmour is a supremely talented midfielder and he looks like he could be an exceptional player if he lives up to his potential, but he often finds himself in and out of the Chelsea team.
He’s yet to make his senior debut for Scotland as Stevie Clark prefers to go with experienced players that he trusts, but Gilmour is the big shock in the Scotland squad for the upcoming Euros:
BREAKING: Steve Clarke has revealed his Scotland squad for #Euro2020 ???????
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 19, 2021
Celtic’s David Turnbull also deserves some attention for forcing his way in, but he has been a standout in a poor Celtic team this season so that is less of a shock, while Nathan Patterson has looked promising for Rangers but he’s also limited when it comes to first team experience.
There had been a late clamour for Ryan Gauld to be included as he’s had a phenomenal season in Portugal with Farense, but Gilmour has won the battle of the diminutive ball-playing midfielder in this squad.
Time will tell if he actually gets to play as Scotland may not dominate their games so he could struggle to be effective, but it’s vital to have players who are comfortable on the ball and it would be great to see Gilmour play this summer.