Chelsea director Petr Cech has talked up Conor Gallagher's chances of representing the Blues in the future.
Gallagher has emerged as one of the stars of the current Premier League campaign, his performances leading to a debut with England earlier this week.
Cech has acknowledged that the 21-year-old would likely find himself in a different position had he remained at Stamford Bridge this season.
However, having been provided with the chance to flourish at Selhurst Park, Gallagher is seemingly on track to earn an opportunity in West London next season.
Speaking to the club's official website, Cech said: "For Conor to get the England call-up was absolutely amazing and to make his debut was obviously even more amazing. If he didn't go to Crystal Palace and perform but rather stayed here and maybe didn't play every game then that would never have happened.
"Once you start to play regularly in the Premier League and show what you can do, that gives you all these chances to be selected. If you have the opportunity to do it when on loan, you can come back to Chelsea in a much better and stronger position.
"Conor will come back to us in a completely different situation than he was six months ago and that's the beauty of it. If everything works out perfectly, this is the idea behind it and obviously it's great to see that it's worked out perfectly for Conor so far."
Gallagher has contributed four goals and two assists from his 10 starts for Palace in the top flight.
Darren Plant
