A claim has emerged on Glasgow Rangers and how good the potential signing of a Scotland international would be for the Light Blues...

What's the talk?

Radio pundit Mark Wilson has claimed that central midfielder Billy Gilmour would thrive back at Ibrox as a senior player if the club managed to snap him up from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Speaking on the radio show Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (29/11/2022) - via the Glasgow Times - the pundit reacted to a supporter suggesting that the Gers should swoop for the gem:

"Listen, he’s someone with exceptional talent who wants to play. He is finding it difficult at the minute and he’s got to find a home that he can play 30, 40, 50 games without long breaks in his career.

“He is at a stage now, but he’s at a crossroads. If there was some sort of miracle that Rangers could entice him up to Scotland, I think he would flourish up here.

“I think he may find it easy to take the ball in tight positions, but the wage he might demand could be out of Rangers reach.”

Davis upgrade

Gilmour signed for Brighton for a fee that could rise to £10m in the summer but has struggled for game time since making the move away from Chelsea.

He has only played four times in the Premier League this season and amassed 20 minutes of action as a substitute in that time - with no top-flight start since his loan spell with Norwich in 2021/22.

His struggle for minutes on the pitch with the Seagulls suggests that the manager does not believe that he is ready to play week-in-week-out in the top tier of English football, and this could open the door for the Gers to swoop in during the January window.

The promise of regular first-team football during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign could be tempting for Brighton and allow Michael Beale to snap the youngster up on loan, after the Light Blues were named as a potential destination for him last summer.

Gilmour could be an upgrade on veteran midfielder Steven Davis if the club are able to secure a temporary deal for the Scotland international.

The gem, who was once dubbed a "fabulous" player by Graeme Souness on ITV, caught the eye during his country's World Cup qualifying campaign as he averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.03 across eight appearances - making 2.4 tackles and interceptions per match.

Meanwhile, Steven Davis has averaged a score of 6.96 across seven outings in the Premiership - making 1.2 tackles and interceptions per game. He also averaged a score of 6.81 in eight World Cup qualifiers for Northern Ireland - making 2.2 of the aforementioned defensive contributions per clash.

These statistics indicate that Gilmour has the potential to be an upgrade on the 37-year-old midfielder if Beale can get the best out of him at Ibrox, which Wilson seemingly believes would be the case, as he has the quality to perform to a higher level whilst winning the ball back more frequently.

He is also 16 years younger than the current Gers man and could offer fresh legs in the middle of the park, Daily Mail journalist Calum McClurkin Tweeting that Davis has been "towing a caravan" on the pitch this season.