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Chelsea cannot recall either Conor McGregor or Billy Gilmour from their respective loan spells in January.
The two midfielders were sent out on loan at the start of the season to Crystal Palace and Norwich City in order to gain first-team experience.
McGregor, in particular has thrived, and his performances have been good enough to earn him England recognition at senior level by Gareth Southgate. Gilmour initially struggled for game time at Norwich but, since Dean Smith replaced Daniel Farke as manager, he has become an integral part of the side.
The West London club have a decision to make about the futures of both of them at the end of the season, because neither will want to find themselves on the fringes at Stamford Bridge, especially in a World Cup year.
However, that can wait until them because the provisions of their respective loan agreements mean now that they have both played a sufficient number of league games that they cannot be recalled.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.