Brighton & Hove Albion are reportedly preparing to make a £10m bid for Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour.
After spending the 2021-22 campaign on loan at Norwich City, Gilmour was hoping to challenge for a first-team role under Thomas Tuchel back in West London this season.
However, the 21-year-old is expected to leave Stamford Bridge this summer, with N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher all preferred ahead of him.
Chelsea are also believed to be looking to recruit a new midfielder before the transfer window shuts, with Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong regarded as one of their top targets.
Gilmour has not been handed a shirt number for the new season and a report from last month suggested that the Blues are looking to send the midfielder out on loan.
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However, the Daily Mail claims that Graham Potter's side are eyeing a permanent swoop for the 15-cap Scotland international, who has also been linked with Everton.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Scottish Daily Express states that Brighton are readying a £10m offer for Gilmour, who extended his contract with Chelsea just two months ago until the summer of 2024.
Born in North Ayrshire, Gilmour began his youth career with Celtic before leaving at the age of eight to join Glaswegian rivals Rangers, where he spent eight years in the academy.
Interestingly, Brighton's technical director and former Rangers captain David Weir was the assistant to former Gers head coach Mark Warburton between 2015 and 2017 when Gilmour was in the club's youth system.
Gilmour moved to Chelsea in the summer of 2017, before making his professional debut two years later under Frank Lampard, coming on as a substitute in a Premier League game against Sheffield United.
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Since then, the deep-lying midfielder has made a total of 22 senior appearances for the Blues across all competitions, but he is still yet to contribute with either a goal or an assist.
Gilmour has featured 11 times for Chelsea in the Premier League and was also involved in two games in the club's 2020-21 Champions League-winning campaign.
The Scotsman was a first-team regular on loan at Norwich last season, recording three assist in 28 appearances across all tournaments, but he was unable to help the Canaries avoid relegation from the top flight.
A potential move for Gilmour to Brighton would see his become the second player to swap Stamford Bridge for the Amex Stadium this summer after defender Levi Colwill, who has joined the Seagulls on a season-long loan deal following Marc Cucurella's permanent move in the opposite direction.
It is thought that Gilmour could be viewed as a replacement for Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo, who has been linked with a move to Manchester United.
However, the Seagulls currently have no intentions to sell the 20-year-old who still has three years remaining on his contract.
Oliver Thomas
