As confirmed by the player himself on Twitter, Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour has signed his first professional contract with the Blues and will wear the No.8 shirt next season.

The 17-year-old, who has already made four appearances for the Scotland u21s, is highly-rated and could have a bright future with the Londoners if he continues his development. Signed from Rangers in 2017, Gilmour has gone on to make 23 appearances for the Chelsea u18s and four for the u19s.

Gilmour has only been with the Blues for a year, but his professional deal shows how well he’s progressed in the last 12 months. The teenager, who is able to play defensive-midfield, central midfield and attacking-midfield, has a tough task of getting into the Chelsea first-team, but a place could be his in years to come.

With Danny Drinkwater, N’Golo Kante, Ross Barkley, Cesc Fabregas and Tiémoué Bakayoko for competition in the middle of the park, Gilmour will have to be patient for an opportunity. Nevertheless, he has fantastic players to learn from and will take hope from Andreas Christensen’s rise to prominence as evidence there’s a clear pathway to the first-team for the young players.

Stats from Transfermarkt.