Billy Gilmour has explained the rationale for wearing Liverpool shirt while playing football in the garden.

The Blues youngster turned in an eye-catching performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup for Chelsea earlier this season.

And the 18-year-old, who is one of the most exciting young prospects in the Premier League, proved it was not a one off having gone on to produce a couple of excellent performances for Frank Lampard’s side in both cup competition and the top flight.

Gilmour was named man of the match after an eyebrow-raising performance against Liverpool which earned him significant praise from a number of figures within the game.

After the match against the Reds, his compatriot Andy Robertson offered him words of encouragement and the Scotland captain gave the youngster his shirt.

When speaking to Chelsea’s official website, Gilmour was asked when he last wore the shirt of a team he wasn’t playing for.

He said: “It was probably Andy Robertson’s Liverpool shirt when I swapped with him after the recent FA Cup game.

“I wear that sometimes at the moment, just out in the garden playing football.”

Gilmour revealed he spoke to left-back Robertson following the FA Cup clash in March too.

“After the game, I swapped shirts with Andy Robertson,” he said recently.

“He came up to me after the game and said ‘well done, you played really well, keep doing it and hopefully see you soon in the first-team squad’.