The first set of Chelsea players will report back to Cobham this weekend for preseason practice, while those who have international obligations will join a week later or rejoin the group in Los Angeles before the club’s tour of the United States. Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Armando Broja, and Mason Mount, among others, have seized the chance to work with private trainers to help assure their readiness. The majority will have embraced the time to unwind after a rigorous season and ahead of another.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Billy Gilmour, though, chose a different path. Following his loan stint at Norwich in 2021/22, Chelsea invoked a provision in the Scotland international’s contract, extending it by a further year until 2024. That did nothing to quell rumors that Gilmour might join Frank Lampard at Everton.
During this preseason, the 21-year-old spent some time working out with another team. Fans of him in Chelsea colors shouldn’t panic just yet.
Gilmour practiced with the West of Scotland Football League team Glenafton Athletic of New Cumnock, an East Ayrshire town. The manager of Glenafton, Ryan Stevenson, a former Chelsea youth player, was photographed with the midfielder. The 37-year-old, who played on the same youth squad as players like Carlton Cole and Robert Huth under Steve Clarke, has said that “being a YTS at Chelsea was the happiest moment of my life.”
The Glasgow Times speculates that the youngster’s affiliation with the club is due to Gilmour’s acquaintance with Glenafton player Sam McKee since the Chelsea star often frequents the neighborhood. Glenafton was focusing on improving its level of fitness during its second preseason workout.
The Scottish team posted on Twitter, “We hope the fitness work will be of great assistance to our players and Billy before he returns to Chelsea in the near future to start their pre-season preparations. This session was geared towards raising the fitness levels of the players for the upcoming season.
Everybody at the club wishes Billy well for the forthcoming season with Chelsea since he often attends our games when he is back in Scotland.
Earlier tonight, we were delighted to welcome Champions League winner, Chelsea player and Scotland internationalist Billy Gilmour @billygilmourrr to our second session of pre season training. pic.twitter.com/64f5tdLcdX
— Glenafton Athletic (@GlenaftonAJFC) June 30, 2022
Gilmour has participated in football during the preseason before. Since returning from his Scotland service in June, the former Rangers academy product has been unable to stay away from the field. The Cobham star participated in a charity game when Stanley Amateurs and a squad of ex-players squared off to raise money for the ManTalk mental health charity in Blairgowrie.
