Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic believes youngster Billy Gilmour is ‘definitely’ going to become an important player at Stamford Bridge in the future.
Gilmour is one of the most exciting talents to come out of Cobham in recent years, already making a handful of first-team appearances for Chelsea and representing Scotland at this summer’s Euro 2020 despite only turning 20 two weeks ago.
The midfielder has been tipped to go on to big things for some time, but excitement hit the next level after his performance for Scotland against England in a goalless draw at Euro 2020.
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Scotland would end up crashing out of the competition, losing to Croatia in their final game, and they did so without Gilmour, who missed the final game due to a positive coronavirus test.
The result meant that the youngster not only missed the chance to help Scotland into the next round, but he also missed the opportunity to play against club teammate Kovacic.
And ahead of Croatia’s Round of 16 clash with Spain, Kovacic has been speaking about Gilmour’s unfortunate absence, while also tipping the midfielder to become an ‘important’ part of Chelsea’s future.
“I did talk with him on the phone as soon as it came out that he was positive,” Kovacic said, as cited by Chelsea’s official website.
“I was very sad about that because he is doing excellently and he is my team-mate.
“I don’t give him too much advice but we do talk a lot. I have seen Billy’s abilities from the first time he started training with the first team.
“He can become a really excellent player so it is up to him to work hard and to get better with each day. I am sure that, with his personality, he is going to do that.”
He added: “Billy’s qualities cannot be brought into question. He is still a young player but he has played a lot of good matches for Chelsea and for his national team.
“He is definitely going to be an important player for Chelsea in the near future.”