Rangers reaping the benefits of Billy Gilmour’s breakthrough with Chelsea

Rangers are already reaping the benefits of Billy Gilmour’s breakthrough with Chelsea.

The Light Blues received some £2 million in compensation from the London club when they lost their academy star in 2017.

However, that was the just the start of the payments under the deal struck at the time.

The Ibrox club received £250,000 when the midfielder made his full debut last year.

It is understood they will receive the same amount again when he completes 10 starts, and if Gilmour hits two other longer-term targets, the bonuses will take the total to more than £1m.

Given his startlingly impressive display in Chelsea’s FA Cup win over Liverpool – a game watched by Scotland manager Steve Clarke – that now looks a distinct possibility.

Blues boss Frank Lampard and his assistant Jody Morris, who coached Gilmour as a youth, are both big fans of the Ardrossan-raised Scot.

Arguably even more significant, though, is the fact Rangers also succeeded in striking a sell-on clause.

They stand to get 15% of any fee received by Chelsea for any future deal.

Given Gilmour has made only three starts – he is likely to make his fourth when Everton visit Stamford Bridge today – that could be seen as being a bit presumptuous.

As Rangers found out themselves, though, potential is always in demand.

Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City are all tracking Gilmour’s progress with a predatory eye.

It is difficult to put an exact figure on just how much might be required for those super-rich clubs to snaffle him up.

On potential alone, it would have to be more than record £25m fee for a Scot, paid by Arsenal to Celtic last summer for Kieran Tierney.

Fifteen per cent of £30m, for example, would then net Rangers £4.5m.

There was concrete evidence of the Ibrox club’s success in putting in place measures to prevent the loss of future stars like Gilmour with the news that Leon King had signed his first professional contract with the club.

The defender had likewise been courted by English suitors.