Norwich City
Championship
Gauntlet thrown down to Chelsea, Man Utd duo waiting to prove a point
Billy Gilmour and Brandon Williams, owned by Chelsea and Manchester United respectively, have been warned by Daniel Farke that he is under “no pressure” to play them for Norwich City.
After securing their return to the Premier League, Norwich took the two young talents on loan over the summer. Scottish midfielder Gilmour has shown promise after coming through at Chelsea, while Williams is the subject of high hopes for those of a Man Utd persuasion.
Gilmour and Williams have each started four of Norwich’s first seven Premier League games. They are yet to enjoy victory in the yellow shirt. Both were unused substitutes in the Canaries’ last game before the international break, a draw at Burnley.
Ahead of their return to action at home to Brighton, Norwich boss Farke could offer no assurances to the pair that they will play just because of the reputations of their parent clubs.
“There is no pressure (to play them). We are not here to develop players for other clubs, we are here to win points for this club,” said Farke.
“It is not about Billy Gilmour, about Brandon Williams, Kenny McLean or Teemu Pukki who are our players. We just like to play with the players to win points.
“This is also the challenge our loan players want to have. It is not like they want to play just because we have loaned them and they (parent clubs) want them to play many games.
“Of course we have shown a lot that we can develop young players, help them to find the next step, if they are our own players or loan players, like (Tottenham midfielder) Oliver Skipp, who is right now playing at a different level.
“Also the big clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea, they do not want it easy for their players.
“They want to be Manchester United, Chelsea or Tottenham players one day. So they need to face a challenge and step up to it.”
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Farke notes huge Gilmour potential
Gilmour has earned plaudits for his performances on international duty for Scotland. TEAMtalk also understands that Chelsea have plans to reintegrate him next year should all go to plan.
Farke insists Gilmour deserves the praise he receives. But they must carefully manage his “unbelievable potential”.
“Billy is a fantastic player, a fantastic human being and of course he wants to play each and every second,” Farke added.
“If you love football, you love Billy Gilmour because this guy is a baller, but he is also a young lad and we have to look after him.
“It is not always that easy for him with the hype in his own country, with lots of praise for him.
“I think he has a good mindset and works hard on the pitch. He has unbelievable potential.”
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