Daniel Farke praises Billy Gilmour for settling into life quickly at Norwich as he makes his debut

Daniel Farke has praised Billy Gilmour for settling into life quickly at Norwich as he made his debut for the club just hours after taking part in his first training session.

The Chelsea loanee, who completed a season-long loan move to Carrow Road a fortnight ago, has only just joined up with his new team-mates this week after taking some time off following his participation at Euro 2020 with Scotland.

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.

Billy Gilmour made his Norwich debut in the club’s pre-season win over King’s Lynn Town

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.’

Canaries boss Daniel Farke was impressed with Gilmour, who has only just linked up at the club

The Scotland star only took part in his first Norwich training session earlier on the Friday

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.

The 20-year-old is looking to gain some regular first-team experience with the Canaries 

‘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.’

Gilmour made 11 appearances for Chelsea last season, starting three Premier League matches.

The former Rangers youth player was an unused substitute in both the FA Cup and Champions League finals as Tuchel’s side lost the domestic showpiece to Leicester but beat Manchester City to become champions of Europe.