Thomas Tuchel’s blunt explanation of why Billy Gilmour left | OneFootball

We all expected Billy Gilmour to leave Chelsea this summer, but most of us thought it would be a loan move and not permanent.

His talent is clear, and despite a bad year at Norwich, we thought he would get another swing at the Premier League this year.

Instead, from nowhere he was sold to Brighton for a small fee. What happened? Thomas Tuchel explained in quotes picked up by the Evening Standard.

“We had high hopes [for him] and he played for us in the first half a year when I was at Chelsea,” Tuchel explained.

“He played some important matches for us and looked for a new challenge that did not go so well for him with Norwich.”

“We expected more, he expected more so it was like, without pointing a finger, but it is difficult also for him and for us to not succeed, to not play at Norwich, to be relegated and then suddenly be a central midfielder for Chelsea and competing for top four and for every title.

“Billy did not want to go on loan, it was a no-go for him so in the end, we agreed to a sale.”

Most Chelsea fans would argue that Gilmour didn’t get nearly enough chances considering the promise he showed in a lot of his early games for the club. Tuchel seemed to write him off without seeing much of him, and while the loan to Norwich was a disaster, there were plenty of mitigating circumstances.

We understand why Gilmour didn’t want to go on loan, and if he wasn’t going to get chances here it made sense for a permanent sale to be made.

It just seems like an unnecessarily quick end to a story we thought would have a much happier ending.