Billy Gilmour made his first Albion Premier League start in last night’s 4-2 defeat to Arsenal at the Amex. A slow start to the game ended with a much-spirited Albion side, with a late fightback instigated by Japanese star-boy Kaoru Mitoma.
The question over who takes the spots for both Moisés Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, who were missing from the squad, was a moment for raised eyebrows around the South Coast. But, in the opinion of many fans around the stadium, Billy Gilmour played a very solid full league debut.
Brighton fell 3-0 down shortly after the second half kicked off, and they finally kicked into gear as Roberto De Zerbi made changes and introduced three young talents.
Evan Ferguson, Julio Enciso, and Jeremy Sarmiento replaced Adam Lallana, Leandro Trossard and Solly March. The young for the old was the call of the day, which worked a charm for De Zerbi’s men.
Kaoru Mitoma began the comeback, with a low-placed shot into the bottom right-hand corner after a well-worked move between Billy Gilmour and Pascal Gross.
VAVEL’s last week’s pick-out, Evan Ferguson, also helped himself to his first Premier League goal after he won a hard-fought tussle with William Saliba and slid the ball past Aaron Ramsdale to make it 4-2.
Gilmour is a different player from what Albion currently have. A player with a good range of passing, vision, and strong in the tackle – a more conventional centre midfielder where there is certainly still a market for in the modern game.
VAVEL spoke to De Zerbi in the week, and when asked about a comparison between Caicedo and Mac Allister, he said: “He is different to [Moises] Caicedo and [Alexis] Mac Allister. He is a midfielder able to organise the play and is very smart to understand [the play] before a situation.”
He went on to mention Albion’s current crop of young players, “But, as [Levi] Colwill, as [Evan] Ferguson, and as is [Julio] Enciso. He needs to play [more]. [for example] Colwill at Aston Villa played well but with Southampton [he] was fantastic. It is very important to play, it is very important for the young player(s). Two or three games in a row can change everything for them.”
As mentioned previously, a player who grew into the game as it went on and to fill the boots of such quality against the current table toppers was always going to be a tough task, and the 21-year-old coped well.
With a run of games, alongside the likes of Caicedo and Mac Allister, the potential for a solid future at the club is undoubtedly foreseeable.
De Zerbi has a well-known love for playing youngsters if he believes they are good enough, he said to the media before the game, similarly to Ferguson in the week previously: “I think he's ready to play this level of game. I want him [to] play relaxed, and in confidence, full stop.” It is an encouraging sign for the short, medium, and long-term futures for Albion fans.
Albion fielded, in the end, 6 players under 23 years old. Julio Enciso (18), Evan Ferguson (18), Levi Colwill (19), Jeremy Sarmiento (20), Billy Gilmour (21), and Tariq Lamptey (22); as well as a bench filled with the likes of Jack Hinshelwood (17), Andrew Moran (19), Ed Turns (20), and Jan Paul van Hecke (22).
it was an incredible shift from the young players, who potentially deserved a lot more in the game if VAR was slightly kinder on Mitoma’s second goal!
The potential is clear to see, and why wouldn’t you want to back such a gifted group of young players?