Billy Gilmour has given Brighton a glimpse into their 2023/24 midfield

It is fair to say it has not been plain sailing for Billy Gilmour since his £9m summer move from Chelsea to Brighton.

One of the main reasons the Scotland international midfielder joined the Seagulls was to work under Graham Potter, who then walked out of the AMEX Stadium to take the head coach job at Gilmour's former club just eight days after the transfer window shut.

Potter's replacement Roberto De Zerbi has afforded Gilmour precious little game time. Before Brighton hammered Wolves 6-0 at the AMEX on Saturday, Gilmour had started just two Premier League matches and only when the Albion boss had his hand forced. 90 minutes in defeat on New Year's Eve against Arsenal came with Moises Caicedo suspended and Alexis Mac Allister not yet back in Sussex following his World Cup exploits with Argentina.

Gilmour was then handed another opportunity a month later as Brighton beat Bourneouth 1-0 at the AMEX. Mac Allister was suspended this time and Caicedo only on the bench after being placed on gardening leave amid the Gunners' failed January attempts to sign him for £70m. Caicedo replaced Gilmour after less than an hour against the Cherries.

Neither hide nor hair had been seen of Gilmour on the pitch since his withdrawal that cold February afternoon. Five Premier League appearances from the bench had all come before Boxing Day and totalled just 14 minutes.

Even in cup competitions, where most managers give fringe players game time, Gilmour made only two starts and one cameo from the bench from seven matches as Brighton reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup and the semi finals of the FA Cup.

The consensus took hold that De Zerbi did not like the look of Gilmour. That his career was badly stalling after last season's disappointing loan at Norwich City. That maybe all those hailing him the future of Scottish football had been duped by a handful of good games when he broke through at Chelsea and a starring role when the Tartan Army drew 0-0 with England at Wembley in Euro 2020, a match which was awful in terms of quality.

Because Gilmour burst onto the scene not long after his 18th birthday, it is easy to forget he is only 21.

How many Premier League clubs challenging for Europe as Brighton currently are have such a young and relatively inexperienced player in that key role sitting in front of the back four? Gilmour is still learning the game and his best days are very much ahead of him.

He is also unfortunate at the Albion to be behind two of the most outstanding midfielders in English football in De Zerbi's pecking order. The Italian is wedded quite rightly to his successful 4-2-3-1, in which Caicedo and Mac Allister are automatic starters. When one of those is unavailable or Mac Allister is pushed forward into the ten role, the underrated Pascal Gross comes into the middle from right back.

It is no slight on Gilmour to be fourth choice for two midfield slots behind those three players, all of whom are having outstanding seasons.

Mac Allister and Caicedo are worth well in excess of £50m each and Gross has already plundered eight goals, making 2022/23 the most prolific season of his Brighton career. De Zerbi is such a fan as to describe Gross as one of the best players he has ever worked with.

What Gilmour had to do was wait patiently and grasp a starting opportunity when it came along. He certainly did that against Wolves, when Caicedo and Mac Allister were both rested. More than a few eyebrows were raised before kick off at a Brighton starting XI containing neither of De Zerbi's first choice midfield and minus Kaoru Mitoma. De Zerbi's selection was fully justified however, largely thanks to Gilmour giving a midfield masterclass alongside Gross; enough to see him voted as the supporters' player of the match on social media.

A precision Gilmour pass out to Julio Enciso on the left helped open up the Wolves defence as Brighton cut through on their way to Gross scoring the second. Gilmour shaved the post with an effort of his own. His discipline and positional awareness sitting as the deeper of the two midfielders allowed Gross more freedom to get forward, resulting in a brace for Der Kaiser.

At one point during a break in play early in the first half, Gilmour could be seen frantically giving advice to young Enciso, who although talented often needs a helping hand when it comes to decision making. Watching that, you would not have known Gilmour had played just 161 minutes of Premier League football for Brighton. He looked like a leader. And whatever he said clearly worked as Enciso ended up having a hand in four of the six Albion goals.

De Zerbi hailed Gilmour as the best player on the pitch afterwards, adding that he had made a mistake in not giving the likes of Gilmour and the impressive Deniz Undav more opportunities to play earlier in the season. "We are enduring a very tough period. We are playing so many games in a row," said De Zerbi.

“We are not used to playing so many games and I thought it was good and right to give Mac Allister, Mitoma and Caicedo one game to recover. For Bill Gilmour and Deniz Undav and players who are playing less, the possibility to show their quality, to feel important like the normal first XI.

"I don’t like speaking about the first XI but the level of Mac Allister, Mitoma and Caicedo is high.
To make a competition is difficult for Gilmour. Gilmour, I think was the best player on the pitch. After the game, I must admit possibly in the past I made some mistakes with him and with Undav because I didn’t give them many possibilities to play. For me, it is difficult to decide to play without Mac Allister, Mitoma, Solly March, Moises Caicedo.”

How much Gilmour plays between now and the end of the season remains to be seen. Even with such a showing in the hammering of Wolves, Caicedo and Mac Allister are undoubtedly De Zerbi's first choice pairing. Gilmour may well have to settle for a back seat role again over the remaining seven matches as Brighton chase European qualification for the first time in their history.

But the likelihood is that Gilmour will not remain a mere backup option for long. What De Zerbi and Albion fans saw against Wolves was a potential glimpse into their midfield for 2023/24 and beyond. Mac Allister seems likely to get a big move this summer having been a consummate professional for three-and-a-half seasons now. If an offer comes in for his services from one of the biggest clubs in the world which is acceptable to Tony Bloom, the Albion will not stand in his way,

The future of Caicedo is less clear. Brighton would be loathe to lose both of their first choice midfielders in the same transfer window. £70m was not enough for Arsenal to prise Caicedo from the AMEX - even after his agent released an ill-advised Instagram statement on their client's behalf asking to be sold - with Bloom prioritising challenging for Europe and the FA Cup over cash.

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If anything, Caicedo has been even better since remaining with Brighton. He signed a new contract and his value now should be far greater. It would take an out-of-this-world offer for Caicedo to depart in the summer, but such a transfer is not out of the question. Marc Cucurella was not going anywhere last year until Chelsea went berserk and paid an amount too good for Bloom to reject.

Thanks to Gilmour, De Zerbi and the Albion can at least sleep a little easier now should Mac Allister and/or Caicedo depart. One swallow does not make a summer and all that, but Gilmour showed in the win over Wolves that he can step up and fill any midfield vacancy which appears ahead of next season.

Brighton are famed for their succession planning; their ability to sell a player whom the rest of the football world believes indispensable to them and replace him with a younger version who goes onto become even better. Gilmour is not a name unheard of outside of Sussex as Mitoma, Caicedo, Mac Allister, Enciso and Evan Ferguson were.

He has the potential though to rise to prominence as swiftly and effectively. Watch this space.