Pat Nevin confessed to having a repeated word in the ear of Steve Clarke to select Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour for Scotland international duty, speaking to Football London.
Scotland have three World Cup qualifiers coming up this month before they set sail for the European Championships this summer.
Gilmour will hope to be part of the team that are taking on a major tournament for the first time in over two decades.
Unfortunately, the young Chelsea star’s dreams took a denting after he was left out by Clarke for this round of national fixtures.
This might have been expected considering the minimal amount of game time he’s been afforded with the Blues.
Nevin will have been as disappointed as any to see Gilmour’s exclusion, especially after expressing how he spoke to Clarke about the midfielder’s inclusion.
The Chelsea legend said: “Stevie Clarke is a great mate of mine and I have hassled him relentlessly, telling him that he needs to have Billy in the squad.
“Scotland do have quite a strong midfield with the likes of [John] McGinn and [Scott] McTominay but Billy has the quality for that level.
“He is good enough no doubt, but Clarkey is the manager, not me.
“Eventually, Billy will be in the Scotland squad, I’ve no doubts about that because of his quality. But he does have to be playing regularly.”
The 19-year-old has only made eight senior appearances for Chelsea this season.
Half of those have come in the FA Cup, all against lower league or lesser opposition.
It isn’t easy for any young star to break into the Blues side, as is the strength in depth they have in each position. Particularly in central midfield, where Gilmour likes to operate.
N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic are all elite level players who would probably get into most top clubs in Europe.
It’s not an easy group to try and break into, which is the task that Gilmour must try overcome.
His Euros dreams may be fading away, but the future is still bright for Chelsea’s Flying Scotsman.
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