Mark McGhee has urged Billy Gilmour to consider a move to the English Championship as he continues to struggle to find game time at Brighton in the Premier League.

The former Ibrox youngster exited Chelsea last summer as he switched to the Seagulls, but after a change in manager, he quickly found himself struggling for first-team minutes.

Gilmour is now at somewhat of a crossroads in his career, and he recently did not feature for Scotland over a double header against Cyprus and Spain.

McGhee, a former Brighton manager, is a season-ticket holder at the club and he would love to see more of Gilmour, but he insists he might need to look for a move out of the club.

He told The Sun: “Billy will hopefully find a manager who wants to make him the key player of a Championship side.

“They can build a promotion charge around him. He’s got all the talent to make them tick, be their star player and really get his confidence up.

“Billy’s still only 21, so go to the Championship, don’t see it as a backward step, see it as his first step forward in a while.

“Then Gilmour can find his level. And if that’s the Premier League, then he comes back into it.

“If he was playing in the Championship, and was turned into the focal point of the team — as Barry Bannan is for Sheffield Wednesday in League One — he could take it back up to the other level and give it another go.

“There will be big clubs looking to get back up. That’s where Gilmour could hold his place down every week and he would definitely find himself again.”

He added: 

 “Billy needs to rediscover self-belief and confidence, and he’s not going to find that by playing for a few minutes every week.

“Those bits and pieces here and there are not going to be any use.

“Go and play between 35 and 40 games at a really tough level and come out of it as player of the year.

“We know he’s capable of that, we’ve loved watching him play well for Scotland.

“If it’s abroad, I don’t know, Brighton have the Belgian club — Union Saint-Gilloise.

“But I believe if he went and played in the Championship, it could be a really positive career-changer for him.

“He needs that sort of change. You can’t tread water for too long. Gilmour must take the bull by the horns.

“Brighton are brilliant at choosing the right place for players to go on loan and do well.”