Patrick Vieira relishing ‘new chapter’ after being named Crystal Palace manager

Patrick Vieira has admitted Crystal Palace’s “ambition and plans for the future” convinced him to become Roy Hodgson’s successor after the appointment of the former Arsenal captain on a three-year deal was confirmed on Sunday.

Vieira – who has been out of work since being sacked by Nice in December – was originally interviewed in April after expressing his interest in replacing Hodgson at Selhurst Park, only to be overlooked initially.

Yet after the breakdown of talks with Nuno Espírito Santo due to concerns over his demands and Lucien Favre’s last-minute U-turn, the Palace co-chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman returned to the man captained Arsenal to their ‘Invincibles’ season in 2003-04 and also won 107 caps for France during his illustrious playing career.

“I am really excited to have this opportunity to return to the Premier League, and manage this great football club, as we begin a new chapter together,” said Vieira.

“It is a project that is really appealing to me, having spoken a lot with the chairman and sporting Director about their ambition and plans for the whole club including the academy. The club has fantastic foundations in place after many years in the Premier League, and I hope we can make further improvements and continue to drive the club forward.

He added: “I am also very excited to experience the atmosphere the club’s supporters make at Selhurst Park and away from home too, and I know just how important that can be for the team.”

Having begun his coaching career at Manchester City after retiring in 2011, Vieira spent four years managing the club’s elite development squad before taking his first senior post at MLS side New York City in 2016. While Favre – who left Borussia Dortmund in December having also previously managed Nice – would have represented a more experienced option than the 45-year-old, with pre-season training due to start on Monday and with several first-team players now out of contract, Parish acknowledged Vieira has no time to waste.

“I’m delighted and excited that Patrick has agreed to join Crystal Palace as our manager following successfully learning his trade at the City Group, and experiencing positive managerial spells at New York City and then Nice, who he led to the Europa League,” he said.

“We have a lot to do to prepare in the coming weeks and I look forward to working closely with Patrick and Dougie in bringing in some new faces to help us all to a successful season.”

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So far, only Christian Benteke has signed a new two-year contract after the Belgium striker’s impressive displays at the end of last season, with Gary Cahill, Andros Townsend, Mamadou Sakho and Patrick van Aanholt among those whose deals expired on 30 June.

While the prospects of Wilfried Zaha being allowed to leave remain thin despite the Ivory Coast forward having only two years left on his contract, the achilles injury suffered by Eberechi Eze in training in May means he is expected to miss at least the first half of the season.

Yet with academy graduate Tyrick Mitchell having signed a new four-year contract and following Palace’s £20m investment in their youth training facilities, it is hoped that Vieira’s experience of developing young players at City and Nice can help bring through a new generation of home-grown talent to follow in the footsteps of Zaha and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who was sold to Manchester United in 2019 for an initial £45m.