Rob Lee believes that Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour would be a positive addition to the Newcastle United squad if they were to bring him in on loan.
According to The Telegraph, the 19-year-old Scottish international is reportedly set to move out on loan in the last few days of the transfer window, to give him the best chance of making the Scotland squad ahead of this summer’s European Championships, because having only played 17 times in the past two seasons, he may be unlikely to get it at Stamford Bridge.
And speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, Lee talked about how highly he rates Gilmour, before saying how much of an asset he’d be for a team like Newcastle United.
He said: “The way he plays, nothing fazes him. History would tell you, you need someone more experienced, but why, if he’s that good? You just need someone playing next to him who’s a bit more experienced that can give a little bit of know-how every now and again, because he will need that, he will make mistakes. But yeah, he’s better than what Newcastle have got.”
Would Newcastle be a good fit for Billy Gilmour?
Yes
No
Whilst Lee might be an admirer of Gilmour’s talents, something that he certainly isn’t alone in, throwing someone like him into a relegation battle might not be the best idea.
That’s the kind of time where you need someone with that little bit of grit and, most importantly experience to help get you out of it. It’s why we saw Sam Allardyce, one of the ‘survival specialists’, deciding against bringing in too many young, flashy players into his side when successfully keeping Crystal Palace in the Premier League back in 2016/17.
That is not to say that Gilmour would not improve Newcastle as Lee suggests, though with the Toon currently without a win in 11 attempts, perhaps his words are more a reflection of their poor form rather than the Blues teenager’s promise.
If Newcastle are to stay in the Premier League, then he is certainly someone with a bright future and someone that they could and should explore bringing in, but right now he’s not the player that they need to get out of their current predicament.