Mateo Kovacic thinks his Chelsea team-mate Billy Gilmour will become a "really excellent player" at Stamford Bridge in the future.
Gilmour, who is still only 20-years-old, featured just five times in the Premier League for the Blues last season, but on the odd occasion he has played, the Scotland midfielder has shown what he is capable of.
The Scot won UEFA's Player of the Match award for his performance against England last Friday, but unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19 the following week, meaning he missed his country's final Group D clash with Croatia, where they crashed out of Euro 2020 with a 3-1 defeat.
But the performance of Gilmour at Wembley, where he was up against his Chelsea team-mate Mason Mount, got everyone talking about the exciting future he has ahead of him - including Kovacic.
The Croatia international said this on Gilmour testing positive for coronavirus: "I did talk with him on the phone as soon as it came out that he was positive.
"I was very sad about that because he is doing excellently and he is my team-mate.
"I don't give him too much advice but we do talk a lot. I have seen Billy's abilities from the first time he started training with the first team.
"He can become a really excellent player so it is up to him to work hard and to get better with each day. I am sure that, with his personality, he is going to do that."
Kovacic was also asked about his Chelsea team-mate's ability and has made a prediction that could excite Blues supporters.
"Billy's qualities cannot be brought into question. He is still a young player but he has played a lot of good matches for Chelsea and for his national team," the 27-year-old said.
"He is definitely going to be an important player for Chelsea in the near future."
Gilmour has been linked with a loan move away from the Blues, with reports suggesting Norwich City are close to signing the Chelsea midfielder on a temporary deal following their promotion back to the Premier League.
The Scotland midfielder was behind Kovacic, N'Golo Kante and Jorginho in the pecking order last season, meaning his best chance of football for the 2021/22 campaign looks to be away from west London.
