Billy Gilmour fee AGREED with Chelsea prodigy to leave on permanent transfer to Brighton on a four-year deal

BRIGHTON have agreed a £9million fee with Chelsea to sign Scotland international Billy Gilmour.

Gilmour, 21, is thought to have sorted personal terms with the club, signing a four-year deal at the Amex.

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Brighton are closing in on a move for Chelsea’s Billy GilmourCredit: Getty

The Seagulls have been on the hunt for a midfielder following the departure of Yves Bissouma to Tottenham earlier this summer.

Gilmour made a stunning start to his Chelsea career under Frank Lampard but fell out of favour under Thomas Tuchel and endured a difficult loan with Norwich City last season.

The ace has only appeared 11 times in the Premier League for the West London club but continues to be a regular for his country.

He was included in the Blues’ party for their pre-season tour to the USA but was then among a group of players that were allowed to leave and link-up with their development squad part way through.

The midfielder was initially left without a squad number at the start of the season.

But he was named on the bench as No35 for Chelsea’s defeat at Southampton on Tuesday but remained unused.

CBS Sport journalist Ben Jacobs earlier stated that Tuchel was due to meet with Gilmour today to determine whether to allow him to leave permanently as they expected an offer from Brighton to arrive.

The Seagulls originally only wanted to sign Gilmour on a season-long loan, according to the Daily Mail.

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But any move has to be permanent – and it looks set to get over the line before the 11pm deadline.

That is because Brighton already have defender Levi Colwill on loan from Chelsea and are unable to borrow another player from the club.

Now Tuchel has given him the green light to depart the club despite his midfield injury crisis.