‘A tank’: Crystal Palace want £20m star who plays just like Patrick Vieira

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In May, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted he sees a bit of himself in Manchester United starlet Mason Greenwood.

On the other side of the city, Pep Guardiola has helped fellow Spaniard Rodri blossom into the same string-pulling, deep-lying number six role he made his own at Camp Nou.

And with The Sun reporting Crystal Palace hope to hijack Napoli’s deal for on-loan Fulham midfielder Andre Franck Zambo Anguissa next year, it’s tempting to wonder whether the Eagles have found something akin to a young Patrick Vieira, a mercurial-muscle-bound midfielder who can pass, tackle, dribble and shoot in equal measure.

“Maybe I’m being extreme but the comparison that comes is with Vieira,” former Italy international Antonio Cassano said via Spazio Napoli a few weeks ago.

Cassano, like so many others in southern Italy, has been taken aback by the remarkable impact Anguissa has made at Luciano Spalletti’s Serie A leaders.

The cynics who questioned the decision to bring in a player relegated with Fulham in May have been left red faced, considering whether to order ice cream or sorbet with their slice of humble pie.

“(Anguissa) has been a tank,” Cassano adds.

“What a call from (sporting director Cristiano) Giuntoli to take such a player on loan with the option to buy. I congratulate the director for the deal.”

Would Anguissa turn down Napoli and leave Fulham for Crystal Palace?

Ah yes, that pesky ‘option-to-buy’ clause.

According to The Sun, Vieira hoped to see Anguissa make the short trip from Craven Cottage to Selhurst Park in the summer before he was blown out of the water by Napoli.

If the Palace boss is to get his mitts on the Cameroon international next summer, Steve Parish and co will have to pull off a major coup.

According to the Daily Mail, Napoli can buy Anguissa for just £9 million.

If Crystal Palace are willing to hand them an immediate profit by forking out, say £20 million, then maybe, just maybe, Vieira will get his wish and land a midfielder in his image.