patrick vieira manager
While Crystal Palace nailed their recruitment across the board over the summer, the club’s best work of the transfer window was undoubtedly the deals they made for their two new centre-backs. Danish international Joachim Andersen and 21-year-old England Under-21 captain Marc Guehi both signed permanent deals at Palace that cost the club less than £40million combined, with both of their contracts not expiring until 2026. The duo have come straight into the first team this season under Patrick Vieira, playing in every Premier League match so far and starting the last four together at the heart of the defence – keeping clean sheets in two of those against Brentford and Spurs. When football.london asked Vieira how vital Andersen was in helping Palace play his particular style,
Patrick Viera said: “He is massively important. Joachim played in France, he played in Italy, he was in the Premier League last year. He has this experience of moving around and going to a new club. When you want to have possession and you have a centre-back who is really comfortable having the ball at his feet it’s quite important. He will be a massive help for Marc to build his confidence and he is doing really well.”
While Andersen and Guehi are two new signings that have already solidified their places in Vieira’s Palace side, Will Hughes is a player who hasn’t had the same luck. The English midfielder was signed from Watford in late August and missed Palace’s first three Premier League matches against Chelsea, Brentford and West Ham as a result. Like most of the signings made by the club over the summer, Hughes was brought in for his ability to play on the front foot – something which Vieira addressed when he announced his signing. Despite this, Hughes has remained on the bench for the last two matches against Spurs and Liverpool, with other newcomers Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise both making their debuts during that time. Vieira has said the reason for this is that it has taken Hughes a while to get up to speed with Palace, having been in the Championship last season with Watford.
Patrick Viera said: “He’s been training well and he’s ready to start or come on now. Physically it’s been a bit challenging for him because he didn’t play or train with a Premier League team for quite some time and he needed to catch up, but today he is ready to get involved.”
Hughes could make his bow for the club in their next game on Monday night against bitter rivals Brighton. The Seagulls have had a good start to the season with four wins out of five, with Palace currently 14th in the table on five points.
