Billy Gilmour never gave up belief about making it at Chelsea.

The Scotsman left the cosy surroundings of boyhood club Rangers in 2017 to pursue his Premier League dream in west London.

Now 19, Gilmour amassed nine first-team appearances last season before being sidelined with injury.

Speaking to the Four Lads Had A Dream Podcast, Gilmour said: "I have always said that my dream was to play in the Premier League and I got one step closer by signing for Chelsea.

"What made my decision was when you see all the players that have come out of the Chelsea youth academy and they are top players. Maybe they are not at Chelsea but they are playing at top clubs, like Nathan Ake at Manchester City.

"You see the youth players coming through at Chelsea now - like Mason Mount, Reece James, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori – and they have won the FA Youth Cup seven times in the last ten years. It is incredible, the youth setup is amazing and I just had to take the next step in my career and go and challenge myself again."

And Gilmour believes he has silenced those doubters up north who criticised his decision to join the Blues.

He added: "They said I was just going to be missing. But I wanted to follow my dream and if I had never done it, I would have regretted it.

"I took the chance, I worked hard and I came down here and believed in myself and my own ability to go to the top and play against these top players.

"So far things have gone well. I have made my first team debut against Sheffield United, I have played against top teams like Liverpool. Everything is going really well just now and I am still developing."