Scotland international Billy Gilmour joins Norwich on loan

Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour has completed a move to Norwich on a season-long loan deal.

The 20-year-old made his first Scotland start against England at Wembley earlier this month as the national team earned a 0-0 draw in their second Euro 2020 match. Gilmour was named as man of the match but suffered disappointment when a positive test for Covid-19 ruled him out of the clash with Croatia.

International recognition had followed a breakthrough season at Stamford Bridge where Gilmour had broken into the first team picture, though he found opportunities restricted when Thomas Tuchel took charge.

The loan move to the Canaries should see the midfielder get more regular playing time with a side that has just been promoted back to the Premier League.

“I’ve been looking forward to coming here, playing as much as possible and helping Norwich City compete in the Premier League,” Gilmour said.

“I spoke to the head coach [Daniel Farke]. He called me and we had a nice talk about how he wants to play and how he sees me fitting in.

“Everything he said was what I want to do on the pitch, get the ball down and play nice football. He spoke really highly of his team and I wanted to come here and help.”

Norwich boss Farke believes the player is in a good place to develop his career.

“I think it helped that in the past we have shown that young players with potential are in good hands here at Norwich City,” he said.

“We are delighted to bring Billy in because we’ve lost some players in that area. We’re looking to improve our options, particularly in the centre of the park, and for that we’re happy to bring Billy in.

“We got the feeling that he can help us a lot with his ability to link the play, his technical qualities and also his work against the ball. From the football point of view, but also from his character he is the perfect fit to our squad.

“He will help us to achieve our targets. We still have to keep in mind that he is an unbelievably young guy and that he hasn’t played regularly on this level. We have to give him some time and space to improve and find his rhythm.

“All in all, we got the feeling that he can help us achieve our targets and he’s a perfect fit for us.”