Norwich boss praises Billy Gilmour for settling into life quickly at Norwich after Chelsea loanee showed ‘nice glimpses’ on his club debut in the Canaries’ pre-season win over King’s Lynn Town.
The 20-year-old only got to take part in Friday morning’s session before being thrown straight into the action against King’s Lynn Town later that day.
And he showed glimpses of quality during his 45-minute cameo, as the Canaries ran out 3-1 winners in the Norfolk derby, leaving Farke to applaud his efforts.
‘Billy is a fantastic character, he was just yesterday [Thursday] involved in testing and he had the first training session with the team this morning,’ Farke told the club’s official website. ‘We got the feeling sometimes it’s good to throw the lads into cold water.
‘It was a bit difficult for him but he showed some nice glimpses. He was there with a good workload, it’s important for him to get the feeling straight away.
‘It’s also important for Milot, it’s been a tough summer for him. He’s working on his fitness and it was important for him to have his first minutes.’
After shining at the Euros with Scotland before they crashed out at the group stages, Norwich acted quickly to snap up the midfielder before pre-season camp could officially start.
And it seems Farke’s time as reserve coach to Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund has helped swing the deal Norwich’s way, which will see Gilmour help the newly-promoted club on their return to the Premier League.
‘We are really happy to have brought Billy in,’ Farke said earlier this month, having seen midfielder Emiliano Buendia leave for Aston Villa for £33million in June.
‘We must say a big thank you to Chelsea and all those involved for making this deal happen. I think it helped that in the past we have shown that young players with potential are in good hands here at Norwich City.
‘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 for us.
‘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.’
Norwich swooped in to land Gilmour’s sought after signature earlier this summer with Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel deciding to ship out the highly-promising midfield talent on a year-long loan to ensure regular minutes on the football come his way, as he is regarded as Chelsea future midfield maestro.
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