Gilmour must prove himself at Norwich before Chelsea return, warns Tuchel
Stefan Bienkowski
- 22 Oct 2021 17:33 BST
- 5 min read
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has suggested that Billy Gilmour needs to prove himself at Norwich, rather than returning to the Stamford Bridge side in January.
The Scotland international made the move to the Canaries in the summer transfer window, in search of game time but after starting four of Norwich’s first five league games, Gilmour has since been dropped to the bench.
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Despite calls from some Chelsea fans that Norwich manager Daniel Fanke is misusing the young talent, Tuchel believes Gilmour must rise to the occasion and prove his worth at Carrow Road before returning to his parent club.
“In general, I love Billy, I’ve always loved him. He was a big factor - maybe not in the full spotlight - for last season when we came here,” said Tuchel.
“He decided to go for a better chance to have some minutes and we thought that was important.
“First of all, I want him to perform. It’s more or less the same for how you make it into our team, by pure performance.
“If you decide to go on loan then it is as simple as that and I don’t mean to be harsh, you need to perform, you need to be on the pitch."
'You have to be the top player'
He added: “You have to be the top player, no matter where you go, if you want to make it back here and improve your status.
“He is our player, we love Billy, we are aware of what he can do but changing clubs is always a risk and a new step.
“It can also be a positive to overcome adversity. Now is not the time to talk about coming back, it’s time to fight for his place and show what he can do.
“We trust him that he can play a role and of course nobody is obliged to play our players. No coach in the world will leave his best players out, so that’s what he needs to prove, that Norwich is a better team with him in.
“I trust that he can do it and hopefully he does not lose this trust in himself and can turn things around again.”
