Klopp hails Chelsea midfielder as ‘biggest talent of last 50 years’ ahead of new season
Chelsea young talent Billy Gilmour has proved he will be a great player in the future and has make some top managers speechless following his recent form.
However, Jurgen Klopp risked putting a few Liverpool noses out of joint by describing Billy Gilmour as the ‘best Scottish talent of the last 50 years’.
The Reds face Norwich in their Premier League opener on Saturday and Gilmour, on loan from Chelsea, will pose a threat from the heart of midfield.
The high praise coming his way from Klopp was a surprise in that the manager overlooked his own left-back, Andy Robertson, who has emerged as one of the best in the world in his position over the past few seasons.
Perhaps it was a case of out of sight, out of mind for Klopp as Robertson is set for a spell on the sidelines with an ankle ligament injury sustained against Athletic Bilbao in pre-season.
The manager also seemingly failed to consider Scottish club legends such as Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness in his assessment of Gilmour.
Dalglish played for the Reds up until 1990 and Souness moved on in 1984.
It seems likely that the manager was just carried away in his pre-game press conference and simply forgot Liverpool’s own Scottish talents.
But Klopp is not alone in his admiration for Gilmour, who is expected to fit like a glove with newly-promoted Norwich.
The Canaries are not expected to be as gung-ho as the last time they were in the Premier League when they suffered relegation but still play attractive, attacking football.
Gilmour’s great strength is his composure and technical ability and evidently he has been earmarked by Klopp as a major obstacle on Saturday.
The 20-year-old impressed when given the chance for Chelsea last season and then delivered a man of the match display for Scotland against England in their Wembley stalemate at the Euros.
He has settled in well during pre-season with Daniel Farke’s men and is likely to be one of the first names on the team sheet for him.