MATEO KOVACIC has backed midfielder Billy Gilmour to become a key man for club and country following his Scotland breakthrough at the European Championships this summer.

The 20-year-old produced a Man of the Match winning performance and earned widespread rave reviews as Steve Clarke's side battled out a goalless draw at Wembley last week.

Gilmour would miss the meeting with Croatia days later after a positive Covid case forced him into isolation and ruled him out of the defeat at Hampden that ended Scotland's Euro 2020 ambitions.

Kovacic was denied the opportunity to go head-to-head with his Chelsea compatriot but the 27-year-old knows Gilmour has a bright future ahead of him at club and international level as he continues to improve and impress.

Kovacic said: "Yes, unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to play against Billy but I did talk with him on the phone as soon as it came out that he was positive.

"Of course I was very sad for that because he is doing excellently and he is my team-mate. I felt sad for him.

Glasgow Times: Billy Gilmour was an assured presence in his first start for Scotland at Wembley.

"He has had an excellent, excellent season and his qualities cannot even be brought into question.

"He is still a young player but he has played a lot of good matches for Chelsea and for his national team.

"He is definitely going to be one of the better players for Chelsea and an important player for Chelsea in the near future.

"I don’t give him too much advice, but we do talk a lot. I mean, we are together every day at our club.

"I have seen Billy’s abilities from the first time that he started training with the first team.

"He can become an excellent, excellent player, so it is up to him to work hard and to get better with each day. I am sure that, with his personality, he is going to do that."