VIEIRA SETS SIGHTS ON CELTIC STAR

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has set his sights on signing Celtic star Ryan Christie according to the latest reports emanating from the media in Scotland. The report from the Daily Record revealed that Vieira is prepared to boost his squad with the signing of Christie who has six months left on his current deal with Scottish Premiership giants Celtic.

Scotland international Christie could be available for a knockdown fee due to the short length of his remaining contract at Celtic. Christie has been at Celtic for six years and he has also spent sometime on loan at Scottish clubs like Aberdeen and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. He has been a key figure for Celtic over the past seasons. Christie made 46 appearances for his club throughout last season.

The aforementioned publication said that new Crystal Palace boss Vieira has made Christie his top priority this summer. He wants the Scottish player to join his team in time for the new season which starts in few weeks time. Vieira has been a fan of Christie since he impressed in the Europa League games against French Ligue 1 outfit Rennes two years ago.

Vieira was formerly the manager at French club Nice and they had a bid turned down for Christie last summer. The Crystal Palace manager was still in charge of the first team at Nice when they made an attempt to sign the Scotland player. Nice remain big admirers of Christie and they are expected to be a major actor if a bidding war starts for the player.

Christie has a very good goal contributions record for his Scottish Premiership club. He has been amongst the goals since his move to Celtic in 2015. The Scotland international has scored 40 goals plus 41 assists in 142 games for the immediate past Scottish champions in all competitions.