Why Billy Gilmour's £15m transfer to Serie A can only benefit Scotland - and why Conte targeted Brighton star

The 23-year-old midfielder has been a key target for Gli Azzurri boss Antonio Conte all summer after a series of impressive performances over the last 12 months, with the Scotland international believed to be keen on making the move to Italy following his two season stay at the Amex Stadium.

A popular figure on the south coast, the ex-Rangers youngster played the final eight minutes of Brighton’s 3-0 opening day win at Everton last weekend and received a warm reception from the travelling supporters, who had chanted “we want you to stay” at him during the final throws of the game. Post-match, head coach Fabian Hurzeler told reporters he expected Gilmour to stay and CEO Paul Barber claimed Gilmour was “important” to the club.

However, Napoli’s persistence appears to have finally paid off after an increased bid of around €17/18m (£14.5/£15m) was reluctantly accepted, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano. Gilmour’s expected move to Italy will be one of intrigue for supporters of the Scottish national team, but why has Conte been so desperate to secure the young Scot - and why is Gilmour so keen on the switch?

Napoli are a club in transition. Winning the Serie A title in 2023, their failure to replace championship winning boss Luciano Spalletti resulted in a torturous campaign last year, leading them to appoint three managers in the space of just six months. Rudi Garcia was the man first tasked with helping them retain their crown, but was replaced as early as November by Walter Mazzarri, who himself was dismissed just two months later. Ending the campaign in tenth place, it was eventually Francesco Calzona who presided over the worst-ever Serie A performance for a reigning national champion come May. With no improvement under Calzona, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis turned to Antonio Conte this summer.

Gilmour is no stranger to managerial merry-go-rounds himself. Given his senior debut in the Chelsea team by Frank Lampard, the ex-Blues icon was a huge admirer of the Ardrossan-born ace, but was sacked just months after introducing him into the first-team fold. Replaced by Thomas Tuchel, Gilmour found first-team opportunities hard to come and was prized away by Brighton boss Graham Potter on deadline day in 2022. The then-Seagulls boss viewed him as a player he could build his team around, but when Potter moved to Stamford Bridge following Tuchel’s sacking just one week later, Gilmour must have wondered if he’d accidently ran over a black cat.

Thank fully for Gilmour, the appointment of Roberto de Zerbi allowing his continuity for the first time in his professional career, playing regular first-team football in a system that suited him perfectly for the last two EPL seasons. In Italy, he will link up with a familiar face and managed by the man who first brought him to Chelsea in 2017 in Conte. Following last year’s constant sackings in Naples, the ex-Chelsea head coach is highly likely to be given a genuine opportunity to turn Napoli’s fortunes around. Conte will also view Gilmour as a key part of his Napoli revolution, hence his clear determination to buy him. Gilmour can take also take heart from the fact that the Serie A has proven to be a perfect home for many of Scotland’s most promising talents in recent years, while the switch to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona offer him a chance to be a hero at one of the most football-mad cities in Europe.

With an undoubted ability to dictate games from the centre of the park, the tactical challenge of the Serie A is one he should quickly adapt to. He has already proven he can prosper in a style not too dissimilar from what he will encounter in Naples, featuring regularly for Brescia-born De Zerbi last year, who set high-demands for Gilmour.

Conte’s notoriously similar demands will not faze him, with ex-boss De Zerbi revealing Gilmour is the type of playing who thrives in that environment. “I completely love him,” said the ex-Brighton boss last season. “Because now he is playing very much like a leader on the pitch. Big quality, big attitude, big player. He is improving in the quality of the pass, in the personality, how he can drive and control the game, drive the team. To understand the play before he receives the ball. He understood when he has to play a long ball and a short pass because the defensive space starts from how long is the pass. In his reaction, when we lose the ball.”

Arguably Scotland’s most talented youngster, there’s already evidence in the likes of Lewis Ferguson, Aaron Hickey and - to a lesser extent Josh Doig - as to what the Italian top tier can do for Steve Clarke’s national team. As a result, there may be a few more Scottish eyes on TNT Sports’ coverage of Serie A in due course.