Former Chelsea star Tony Cascarino believes teenage sensation Billy Gilmour reminds him of Roy Keane.
The 18-year-old was his side’s standout star in their 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup on Tuesday night, helping them secure a place in the last eight.
Gilmour is believed to have only been promoted to Chelsea’s senior squad on a permanent basis three weeks ago, but didn’t look out of place against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer branded Gilmour as ‘absolutely magnificent’ after the game and Cascarino was also full of praise for the Scotland youth international on Wednesday morning.
“He was thrown in the deep end and absolutely swam, he didn’t have an issue at all,” the former Republic of Ireland international told talkSPORT’s Sports Breakfast show.
“In the first 15 minutes he just set the standard for the game, just getting on it, having that inner belief and dictating the pace of the midfield.
“Without wanting to go over the top, because I’m as guilty as everybody of doing this and getting excited about what you see, but I remember Keane being very similar at this age.
“Roy Keane demanded the ball, he was a fearless footballer.
“When I first saw him at Nottingham Forest and then when he got in the Ireland squad, Roy just enjoyed having the ball, he demanded it, ‘give me it’.
“Billy Gilmour did that. Roy was tenacious and Billy Gilmour showed that as well last night.
“Keane was a little bit older when he first came over from Ireland, but if I’m comparing that to what I’m seeing from an 18-year-old, Roy had that tenacity in his game where he just wanted the ball and never shirked anything.
“That’s what Gilmour did last night.”
