Chelsea prodigy Billy Gilmour has opened up on his admiration for Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, while also revealing praise he received from Scotland captain Andy Robertson.

Gilmour, 18, has burst on to the scene this season after a series of impressive performances for Frank Lampard’s side.

The Scottish midfielder has shown some real potential in the middle of the pitch and has long looked up to players like Busquets that are able to subtly dictate a game.

‘When I was real young I used to watch [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, as everyone did, but when I started analysing my game more and seeing who I would progress and hope to be like, it was more like [Andres] Iniesta, Xavi, [Cesc] Fabregas, all them type of players,’ Gilmour told Sky Sports.

‘It was just something I loved watching, seeing how they pass the ball, receive the ball and everything was sharp.

‘Busquets as well, when you watch Barcelona, you watch Busquets individually and everything happens around him. But when you watch Barcelona, you don’t really see Busquets.

‘But that’s the kind of player I’ve always looked up to and just wanted to be that kind of player to get on the ball and make things happen.’

One of Gilmour’s best performances to date came in a 2-0 FA Cup win over Liverpool in March and the teenager says he was singled out for praise by Scotland captain Andy Robertson after the match.

‘He came up to me after the game and he was just saying, “Well done, you played really well, keep doing it and hopefully see you soon in the first team”,’ he said.

‘So that was great to hear that from the captain of my country.’

Gilmour, who came up through the ranks of Rangers, has also previously turned heads off the pitch, revealing a brief modelling career for fashion label Burberry.

‘I got a call from my agent and he was just saying, “We got a call from Burberry, they’re asking if you’d like to do some modelling”,’ Gilmour said.

‘So my dad phoned me and said “What would you think of doing it”, so I’m giving it a bit, saying “Of course”, like bantering with him, and then I get phone call from my agent saying, “You’ll be meeting up tomorrow with Burberry.” So I say “Why’s that?” And he said, “You’re modelling for them, did your dad not say?”

‘So I ended up doing a few shots for Burberry; it was good, something different, but it was funny, I got a bit of stick.’