"Todd Boehly and the other Chelsea owners did not want to sell" - Simon Phillips says Thomas Tuchel convinced club to let 22-year-old leave in the summer
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly convinced the club to sell Billy Gilmour this summer despite owner Todd Boehly wanting to keep hold of the midfielder.
The Scotland international moved to Brighton & Hove Albion on deadline day for a fee of £9 million following a less than impressive spell at Norwich City last season. He assisted once in 24 league games as the Canaries were relegated to the Championship.
Journalist Simon Phillips told GiveMeSport (h/t the Chelsea Chronicle) that Boehly was in favor of keeping Gilmour. However, it was solely Tuchel's call to offload the Scotsman. Phillips said:
"I’m told on this one, Todd Boehly and the other Chelsea owners didn’t want to sell. This was Thomas Tuchel’s decision, and if it all goes wrong, this is all on him."
He added:
“I think it’s a big mistake selling Gilmour on a permanent deal unless you’ve got a really good buy-back clause in it, but to reiterate, Boehly wanted to keep Gilmour; Tuchel wanted to sell him and Tuchel was being 100% backed.”
@BillyGilmourrr 🏴Happy Gilmour. 😁 @BillyGilmourrr 🏴 https://t.co/5csIYcPrZw
There is no information regarding a buy-back clause or any such contractual options that would give Chelsea an advantage were they to pursue his services in the future. Gilmour did not play a single minute of football last month on his return to Stamford Bridge.
A move to Brighton on September 1 was quickly followed by his debut for the club. Gilmour came on as a last-minute substitute in the Seagulls' 5-2 win against Leicester City on September 4.
Gilmour did not want to leave Chelsea for another loan spell
According to Tuchel, Gilmour was not open to leaving Chelsea for another loan spell, which is why the club agreed to sell him to Brighton.
Speaking after the transfer was finalized, the German manager told reporters (h/t Daily Mail):
"Ideally it would have been another loan. Billy did not want to go on loan, it was a no-go for him so, in the end, we agreed to a sale."
Perhaps the midfielder wanted a clear idea about his future instead of pinballing between different clubs. Kenedy and Michy Batshuayi are examples of players who spent a large part of their careers being loaned out to different teams while being on the Blues' books.
Gilmour would expect to get more minutes under manager Graham Potter. He could make his first start for his new club when they face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday (September 10).