Dougie Freedman earns praise from Palace boss for role he played in securing Chelsea loan hit Conor Gallagher

Patrick Vieria has hailed the role that Dougie Freedman played in helping persuade Conor Gallagher to join Crystal Palace on loan from Chelsea over the summer.

The Eagles, who nearly signed Gallagher on loan last season but instead opted to re-sign Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea, reportedly managed to fend off interest this summer from Leeds and Newcastle to finally bring the Epsom-born midfielder to Selhurst Park.

Gallagher was rewarded with his first call up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad in their World Cup qualifier against San Marino after his impressive start to the season and played 45 minutes in the Three Lions’ 10-0 win on Monday.

Speaking on how the South Londoners persuaded Gallagher to depart Stamford Bridge on loan, Vieira praised Palace’s sporting director: “We talked about the football club, about what we are trying to build and the role that he can play in our football club. It’s about him knowing what he really wanted at that moment because there was a lot of clubs around.

“Dougie did a fantastic job as well to convince him that this was the right place for him. It’s good for us, and I think he realises that he made the right decision, but the challenge now is how far can we go with him playing that way.

“There are big things ahead of him, and he needs to keep working hard, working well, to challenge himself and to help the club win football matches.”

Although Gallagher is the Eagles’ joint-top goalscorer with four, has assisted two goals and picked up two Player of the Month awards to date, Vieira believes the combative midfielder can go to the “next level” in his game.

“It’s something that will come with experience. We’re more and more demanding on him about what we want him to bring to the team.  He’s been improving a lot, and you can see that the games now that he is playing are more complete,” explained the three-time Premier League winner.

“It’s not just about the energy that he is bringing to the team – it’s about his position when we need to defend, the timing of closing people down, the timing of running in behind and the way he is playing with a team-mate in possession.

“He is improving a lot of parts of his game, and there is still a part that will allow him to go to the next level as well.”