Recent reports suggest Brighton are open to selling their 23-year-old Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour. After rejecting an initial £8m bid, Sky Sports are reporting the deal could be completed if Napoli return with an offer in the region of £12.5m. Antonio Conte managed Gilmour during his time at Chelsea before Albion acquired the midfielder for £7.25m fee in 2022 and is keen to bring him to the Serie A.

Napoli have had an £8m bid rejected by Brighton for midfielder Billy Gilmour 🚨 pic.twitter.com/nWjlAjkotU

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 20, 2024

But would Brighton selling Gilmour be a mistake, particularly for a low fee of just £12.5m, especially as they begin a new era under Fabian Hurzeler? Or could they survive letting him go with the other talent they have waiting in the wings?

What is Billy Gilmour’s playing style?

Gilmour operates as a defensive midfielder, making 41 appearances as a first-choice starter across all competitions last season under Roberto De Zerbi. Alongside Pascal Gross, Gilmour took the role of covering the defence and pushing play forward in De Zerbi that liked to play out from the back, with Gross carrying it further forward and being the more creative of the two.

He is smart both on and off the ball, rarely flying into reckless challenges and favouring short and simple passes and if he does have a crack at goal it will likely be from distance.

How does Billy Gilmour stack up against the rest of the Premier League?

In 30 Premier League appearances for Brighton last season Gilmour had one assist, attempted 2,065 passes in total and 68.83 per game for a completion rate of 90.9%. Defensively he put in 26 tackles with a 62% success rate, 11 blocked shots, 11 interceptions, 14 clearances, 132 recoveries, 75 won duels and made zero errors that led to goals.

These numbers are solid, but I do not think they exactly jump out against other defensive midfielders in the league. In the 2023/24 season; Gilmour ranked 79th in interceptions with three other Brighton midfielders ahead of him, Jack Hinshelwood at 68, Carlos Baleba at 49 and Pascal Gross at 33. He ranked sixth in total passes, with Gross again ahead of him who was second only to Manchester City’s Rodri. In tackles he came in at 89th with Baleba coming in at 55 with 40 tackles, Facundo Buananotte at 49 with 42 tackles and Gross at 20 with 70 tackles.

While he does put in solid performances, when you look at the overall numbers they do not really stack up against the rest of the league or even the other midfielder’s on the team. Of course being only 23 leaves a lot of room for improvement but for a club like Brighton who have such a depth of young talent in the first team and the academy, is there the time?

Billy Gilmour’s game by numbers vs. Sheffield United:

112 touches
93% pass accuracy
92 passes completed
6/6 ground duels won
3/4 long balls completed
3/3 tackles won
2/2 aerial duels won
1 key pass

What a performance. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Ib8KazyBAb

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 27, 2024

Is Gilmour the man for Fabian Hurzeler’s system?

Hurzeler has said he has adapted elements similar to De Zerbi in his own managerial style, often setting up his St Pauli side in a 3-4-3 formation with two holding midfielders, much alike to how De Zerbi would deploy Gross and Gilmour. With the likes of Jack Hinshelwood and Carlos Baleba at the club alongside Dutch international Mats Wieffer arriving from Feyenoord this summer, who will be the man to take the starting role alongside Pascal Gross, who himself is looking increasingly likely to stay at Brighton for at least one more season.

Fabian Hürzeler’s St. Pauli usually starts with a back 3 but alternates between 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1/4-2-4 in the deep build-up.

Take advantage of the wide overloads to progress/combine (arrow) Switch to the other side or cross it to the box.pic.twitter.com/hIIDWaHpHO

— MT (@MT_Analysis) May 17, 2024

I believe it should, and will be Carlos Baleba. The 20-year-old Cameroon international made 27 appearances for Brighton last season, 12 as a substitute, and as already mentioned he ranked above Gilmour in both tackles and interceptions. His passing numbers are respectable as well, making a total of 773 and 28.63 per match for a 92% completion rate. Defensively he is somewhat raw, as would be expected for a 20-year-old in his first season in English football, but there is a definite talent there. His 40 tackles had a 50% success rate, he blocked six shots, made 18 interceptions, 27 clearances, 95 recoveries, won 102 duels and had 11 successful 50/50s though he did have two errors that led to goals.

I watched Baleba first hand in Brighton’s 1-1 draw against Fulham in October 2023. He played 70 minutes and finished with 67 touches, three tackles, two blocks, completed 53 of his 54 attempted passes for a completion rate of 98.1% and overall looked very comfortable throughout the match, with this of course being very early in his Premier League development. In a second season under the management of Hurzeler I believe Baleba could step his game up another level and really solidify himself in the starting lineup for Brighton.

March's Porsche Centre Mid-Sussex POTM winner is Carlos Baleba! 🇨🇲👏 pic.twitter.com/OVt0BeNDJS

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) April 17, 2024

With Hinshelwood and Wieffer in the rotation as well, I do believe this leaves Gilmour as the unfortunate odd man out and a transfer to Napoli would be a good move for both sides, with Gilmour getting the opportunity to establish himself under Antonio Conte and continue his development.