Patrick Vieira insisted it was a “joy” to work with Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher and believes that the youngster can continue to improve at Crystal Palace.

Gallagher is on loan at Selhurst Park this season after coming through the Chelsea youth system, and has made nine appearances, scoring two goals.

He is likely to be part of the team when Palace travel to Manchester City on Saturday, and Vieira was full of praise for the 21-year-old midfielder.

“Working with Conor, it’s a joy really because he is a player who wants to fill his potential, he wants to learn and he wants to work hard and he’s bringing this energy to the team,” the Palace manager said.

“The staff and myself are really enjoying working with him. He comes in every morning with a big smile on his face and is leaving the training ground with a big smile as well.

“When he’s on the field he’s working hard every single day and he is a player that wants to fulfil his potential and I think that is a really important tool to have as a player, to improve yourself and keep challenging yourself.”

However, the former France international would not be drawn on whether the club would be interested in permanently signing Gallagher at the end of his loan deal next summer.

“It’s really too early to talk about these kind of decisions,” added Vieira.

“We are really glad that he decided to come to our football club and I think we had the tools to attract him to our football club and I believe that he made the right decision, but what will happen in the future I think we have to wait a couple of months to talk about that.”

Palace will travel to Manchester on Saturday looking to become the first team to score against Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League this season.

Vieira is no stranger to the club having played there for one season towards the end of his career, and he also credits Guardiola with his development as a coach.

“We didn’t speak for quite a long time (after City) but it was really helpful because when I was doing my badges and when he was at Bayern Munich he opened the doors for me to look at the full session,” Vieira said.

“He spent some time with me after training or even in the evening and that just showed the kind of person he is, so it was a privilege for me to spend that quality time with him.”