Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour has joined Norwich City on a season-long loan, with the newly-promoted club pipping Rangers to his signature.
According to the Daily Record, Light Blues boss Steven Gerrard was interested in taking the 20-year-old on a one-year deal if Chelsea agreed to a temporary exit.
Rangers could have offered Gilmour the chance to play in the Champions League next season, with only two qualifying rounds between them and a place in the group stages of Europe’s elite competition.
However, Chelsea preferred to keep him in the Premier League, and the Scottish Premiership giants will have to look elsewhere for midfield reinforcements.
Celtic legend Chris Sutton appears to have mocked Rangers on Twitter for missing out on their academy graduate.
Smart move https://t.co/tPhxFIoAop
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) July 2, 2021
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While Rangers have missed out on having Gilmour back at Ibrox for the season, they have received a £1 million windfall from the deal that took him to Chelsea in 2017.
The clause was activated after he made his Premier League debut under manager Frank Lampard in August 2019, and the cash will come in handy as the Light Blues look to further strengthen their team in the coming weeks.
Gerrard wants to mount a credible title defence next term and challenge for both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup, and will need to improve his squad depth ahead of the tasks ahead.
Rangers would have been glad to have recruited the services of a talented midfielder like Gilmour, though, and will now hope to produce similar players in the future.
Read: 2021 Premier League transfers.
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