Chelsea-owned midfielder Conor Gallagher has thanked Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira for helping earn his England debut.

Gallagher turns 22 in February but has yet to appear in the Stamford Bridge first team.

But he made his senior international debut on Monday night when he replaced Kalvin Phillips for the second half of the San Marino slaughter.

Gallagher said: “Working under Patrick is amazing. He was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League so to learn from him is brilliant.

“He helps me a lot, tactically, and most importantly, which is really good, is how he knows my strengths and tells me what to do in terms of that.

“That means I am allowed to make the box and do what I do best which is part of the reason why I've had a good start to the season."

With Gareth Southgate unafraid to select players who have had to go out on loan, Gallagher could yet be part of Southgate's World Cup plans.

But the 21-year-old knows it will be a tall order, saying: “I have seen the quality and the amount of good players in this squad is amazing, the talent is very, very high. It will be a tough squad to get into.

“I am just thinking about this season with Crystal Palace, doing the best I can for them, and doing as well as we can in the Premier League.

“That's most important for me now.

“And if I continue to do well with them and carry on scoring a few goals there's a chance to be in this England team."