Chelsea goalscorer reveals why Billy Gilmour is the next “Pirlo”
This week saw the first in our series of “big interviews”, this time with David Speedie, a big Chelsea name back in the 1980s when he played in a fearsome front line along with Kerry Dixon and Pat Nevin.
When speaking to us he had thoughts about much of the current team, but as a Scot he was particularly keen on Billt Gilmour’s progress.
He said he was aware of him when he was up at Rangers, and was just pleased that he’d chosen Chelsea over a host of other interested teams.
“I’m going to compare with him Pirlo, the Italian midfield player, in that every time he plays the ball, he wants it back. It doesn’t matter where he’s played the ball, whether it be from one side of the field to the other, he’s the closest man ready to receive the ball,” Speedie explained.
“That’s who Billy reminds me of, Pirlo. Although, he’s a lot smaller,” he concluded with a glint in his eye.
We can see the comparison perfectly – although Pirlo is pretty small himself. Billy’s desire to take the ball wherever he is on the pitch would be remarkable for a player of any age, so to see him as a teenager screaming for the ball to feet from his defenders was pretty special.
He could be back from injury as soon as next week, and then we can really start to see his career progressing after one promising false start.