Scotland performance director Malky Mackay offers his advice to Billy Gilmour's family as clubs begin to circle for Rangers starlet
- Billy Gilmour is rated as the brightest young prospect at Rangers at present
- The 15-year-old has been linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer
- Malky Mackay has urged Gilmour's dad to make sure he stays at Ibrox
Malky Mackay has revealed he has spoken to Rangers starlet Billy Gilmour’s family about his future — and has suggested the young playmaker would be better off staying at Ibrox.
Gilmour, one of Scotland’s brightest hopes, has been strongly linked with a £350,000 move to Chelsea this summer. But new Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha has personally spoken to the 15-year-old to try and persuade him to remain at Ibrox.
Mackay has been impressed by the Scotland Under-16 star and, while he insists he never gets involved in club transfers, he has warned Gilmour he could get lost if he goes to a big club with a huge academy.
Billy Gilmour is rated as one of the brightest young prospects in Scottish football
‘Billy can have his pick in the summer and I had a conversation with his dad,’ said the SFA performance director.
‘I was asked to give him my experience as a player and coach in the past.
‘But it’s about the pathway — the quicker you can test yourself against men, the better.
‘To be tucked into an academy with 20 other international-class teenagers, what chance are you going to get?
‘I won’t tell any club’s players what to do. It was just about my experiences.
‘At Watford, Ashley Young could have left at a young age but didn’t — he opted to stay.
The 15-year-old has been linked with a move to Chelsea from Rangers this summer
Malky Mackay has advised Gilmour's family that staying at Ibrox could well be best for him
‘Just three years later, Aston Villa came back to buy him for £9million before he moved to Manchester United.
‘That was opposed to him going into a youth team set-up with 25 other reserves, 25 out on loan and 25 first-team players. He’d have had to go through that just to get a foot on the ladder.
‘And I always give the example of Tom Cleverley at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. He was seen as a top prospect and Fergie had a four-year plan for him.
‘He put him to Leicester in League One, then I got him in the Championship at Watford. Then he went to Wigan in the Premier League.
‘The following year, he played more than 20 games of league football. He was tearing up every one of the divisions as a young star.
‘There was a plan there and that’s what has to happen.’
Gilmour could face getting lost in an academy wilderness by moving clubs too early
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