Gallagher aiming for Chelsea breakthrough as Vieira admits Palace return is unlikely

The midfielder excelled during his loan spell in west London last season, scoring eight goals as they finished 12th in the Premier League.

But Palace's French boss doesn't envisage the England international returning to Selhurst Park.

"At the moment, Conor is a Chelsea player," said Vieira.

"We had him for a year and he did really well for us, but today he's a Chelsea player.

"At the moment, I don't think there is any kind of possibility for him to come back.

"So, it's important for us to look around and see if there are any other players who can help us have a good season - that player may already be in our football club."

And that is likely down to the energetic centre-midfielders intention to play for his boyhood club next season - and a call from Blues boss Thomas Tuchel looks to have ensured that.

"I feel like this is the season," he told BBC Sport.

"I've been a Chelsea fan my whole life, my family have, it's been a dream to play [for Chelsea] but I want to try and impress, and play as much football as I can and affect the game when I'm on the pitch.

"[Tuchel] said he wants me to be part of the squad and to prove myself in pre-season, so that's the plan. I'm happy with that and just willing to work as hard as I can to prove to him that I can play for Chelsea.

"It's what I wanted to hear, it was a nice phone call that we had and it gave me a clear plan of pre-season and where I'm going to be. It was great to hear."