These stories are samples pulled from external media sources. They do not represent the views or position of Chelsea Football Club.

Gilmour glad his loan request was rejected

In a lengthy interview with the Daily Record, Billy Gilmour revealed he asked to go out on loan this summer but is glad his request was rejected by new Chelsea manager Frank Lampard.

The 18-year-old was looking to take the next step in his development with a loan spell at another club but was told by Lampard to remain with the Blues for the season.

‘In pre-season the manager had a chat with me saying he knew I wanted to go on loan but said it would be better if I stayed,’ said the young Scot.

‘Obviously it’s working. He’s looking at younger players. With the transfer ban it’s hard but it’s good experience for us. Hopefully, I can try to get more first-team games.

‘He talks to you normally, tells you you’re doing well and says if I want to keep training with them I need to keep my standards up.

‘I wanted to follow my dream and to play in the Premier League and choosing Chelsea has turned out to be the right move. I’m enjoying it. The plan for me was set up and I’m now ahead of the plan.’

Having made his Premier League debut against Sheffield United and started against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup, Gilmour was also thrilled to be offered a new contract by the Blues.

‘A lot of good things have happened to me in a short space of time,’ he explained. ‘My agent told me Chelsea wanted to give me a new contract and I said “where do I sign?”

‘There was no messing about. I just wanted to sign it. That’s me at Chelsea for another four years. Hopefully it will remain good for me.’

Hudson-Odoi proud to see players stand up to abuse

Callum Hudson-Odoi has praised England’s players for sticking together and making a stand against racist abuse during their Euro 2020 qualifier in Bulgaria, the Evening Standard reports.

The Chelsea winger was not with the senior squad for their 6-0 win in Sofia as he was involved with the Under-21s in their UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifier against Austria.

But having been subjected to racist abuse when he made his full England debut against Montenegro in March, Hudson-Odoi was pleased with the way Gareth Southgate’s players handed the situation in Bulgaria.

‘It is disgusting to hear or see players getting discriminated against,’ Hudson-Odoi said. ‘It is not right. I say to myself, whenever that happens you have got to stick together as a team which the boys did.

‘I am really proud to see the boys stick together and in those situations where they say they would walk off the pitch, it is right because no player should be treated differently. We are all equal.

‘It is an equal game so we have all got to stay strong, stay the same and the boys dealt with it well.

‘Hopefully everything will be sorted properly by UEFA. Everything that happened was obviously not right but we have to stick together as a team and move on from it.’

Pulisic hampered by illness in USA loss

ESPN reports United States head coach Gregg Berhalter decided to replace Christian Pulisic during the 2-0 loss to Canada on Tuesday because he had been suffering from flu-like symptoms.

The 21-year-old appeared unhappy when he was taken off on the hour mark with the game at Toronto still goalless.

‘He wanted to continue,’ said Berhalter. ‘You could see the disappointment in his face, and we had to make that decision.

‘We made the decision based on being not sure how much he had left. We wanted to inject some energy into the team.’

ESPN’s match report indicates Pulisic struggled during the game and missed a good opportunity to break the deadlock early in the second half although his early replacement by Paul Arriola still came as a surprise.