Work ongoing to make sure player isn’t ‘luxury reserve’ after Brighton exit

Billy Gilmour left Brighton in the summer to join Napoli but he isn’t quite a regular for the Partenopei yet.

As Napoli continue to impress under Antonio Conte, the Scottish midfielder is finding it difficult to show his true ability to the Italian manager, and is being vastly overshadowed by compatriot Scott McTominay.

He’s made brief appearances off the bench in Serie A, having started once in the Coppa Italia.

The feeling in Italy is that a player like Gilmour would usually start for many other clubs in Serie A, with Gazzetta dello Sport stating that he would do so for 90% of Italian top-flight sides.

The reason why he isn’t playing often is because of the presence of Stanislav Lobotka, who is widely regarded as one of the best in the world in that deep midfield role.

That is why Gilmour is ‘struggling’ to impose himself, even though the signing from Brighton is believed to have the heart of a ‘warrior’.

He is, like David Neres, a ‘luxury reserve’ but Conte and the club want to make sure things improve.

The fact that Napoli aren’t playing any European competition could prove to be an issue for Gilmour, who would have played more if his new club was playing more games.

As it stands, Conte is trying to find a way to give all his chosen players the time they need.