Thomas Tuchel has arrived at Chelsea with new tactical ideas, a new setup, and giving fresh chances to many players who were ‘done for’ under Frank Lampard and even previous regimes.
The likes of Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho, Marcos Alonso, and even Mateo Kovacic have all been given a new lease of life under the German boss – players who were either barely featuring at all, or were only ever really squad players for Lampard.
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I agree that it is fair for a new manager to come in and give all players a clean slate and a chance to prove themselves. However, what I don’t agree with is based on overall ability and what they all bring, Billy Gilmour being Chelsea’s 4th choice midfielder.
In fact, in my view, he stakes a claim to be one of the first.
Tuchel says: “The other three players are Kovacic, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante. That means it’s not easy for Billy to find his place, but he’s the no.4 right now in my head & to be the no.4 for two positions is a pretty good start for Billy.”
This I just cannot agree with.
I’m not slating the other midfielders, I think they all bring something unique to them team and are good players. However, Gilmour has it all about his game, he brings the defensive aspects as well as the attacking and he is complete with bundles of energy and desire to win matches.
This isn’t me telling you that Jorginho is a bad player for example, because he isn’t. In fact, he has played much better already under Tuchel and has already shown what he can do and what he brings to this team. I am simply saying that for me, Gilmour is a more well-rounded option.
You can even make that claim about Kante in this particular moment, in terms of being injury-prone and not being in his best form. Kovacic as well brings so much to the team and is playing very well under Tuchel, he is a player I’ve always rated very highly.
But there is arguments that Gilmour could do as good a job and in some cases a better job than any of our midfield options.
Tuchel leaning on his experienced players, and I totally get that, we need the results right now.
Yes he is young, and that is why Tuchel is being cautious, I get that. But Gilmour is mature beyond his years the way he plays, and if he doesn’t play we will lose him, we simply cannot afford to do that.
