Chelsea and Scotland midfield starlet Billy Gilmour has emerged as a summer target for Premier League newcomers Norwich City.
According to a report by The Athletic, the Canaries, who scooped the Championship title last season, are keen on taking the 20-year-old to Carrow Road on a season long-loan deal, to both strengthen their own midfield options and hand him more first-team opportunities.
With Chelsea understood to be in the market for a new central-midfielder this summer, plus the fact that Gilmour already has the likes of Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante and Jorginho ahead of him in the pecking order, sending the former Rangers man out on loan could be a sensible decision for all involved.
The Canaries have certainly earned themselves a good reputation for bringing the best out of young players, as Tottenham Hotspur's Oliver Skipp blossomed during a season long-loan stint in Norfolk last season, playing a key role in their promotion tilt.
Although Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has not spoken to the media since reports linking Gilmour with a move to Carrow Road have surfaced, the German did confirm last month that a decision would be made at the end of the season in regards to the midfielder's future.
"Well, that was an absolutely okay performance," Tuchel said of Gilmour's performance following last month's surprise 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
"We saw they defended so deep, so we wanted to have Mason Mount who has a better shot from 20 metres to maybe be more dangerous from distance and have an offensive player like Mason there.
"It wasn’t because Billy was bad that we took him off. It was a tactical change where we tried to put more offensive power.
“For Billy’s situation, we will talk after the season. Right now he is here and is doing his job.
"It’s clear it’s very hard for him. It’s because we lacked N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in midfield and they are huge for us. It’s not fair to this all on his shoulders but he did a fantastic match at [Man City] and an absolutely ok match today.
"He was certainly not the problem."
Considering Gilmour already finds himself down the pecking order, sealing a temporary loan exit could be the best thing for him at this stage in his career.
He has struggled for opportunities under Tuchel since the German arrived at Stamford Bridge in January, racking up just five appearances.
Given that Norwich boss Daniel Farke is a fellow countryman of Tuchel's, it may just convince the Chelsea boss to allow Gilmour to test himself in the Premier League week-in, week-out at Carrow Road.
