Reported Crystal Palace target Kasper Dolberg thinks the world of Patrick Vieira and encouraged Denmark team-mate Joachim Andersen to make the switch to Selhurst Park, as reported by The Athletic.
With just a few weeks of the transfer window remaining, it remains to be seen if Crystal Palace’s new £15 million centre-back will be reunited with his baby-faced compatriot on the Premier League stage.
Tuttomercatoweb claimed back in June that Ligue 1 outfit Nice are not entirely against the idea of cashing in on Dolberg, should Palace make a sizeable bid for the £17 million striker.
And while such a statement may come as a surprise given the way Dolberg performed at Euro 2020 – scoring against Wales and England and the tournament’s surprise packages reached the semi-finals – it is worth mentioning that his performances at club level have left a lot to be desired.
Will Kasper Dolberg and Patrick Vieira be reunited at Crystal Palace?
Since joining Nice from Ajax in 2019, a man who was frequently compared to a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Amsterdam has scored just 17 goals in 55 games.
Dolberg’s potential is undoubted but, at the age of 23, it is impossible to ignore the feeling that his development has plateaued on the banks of the Riviera.
Dolberg did play his best football in Nice colours under Vieira, however, and the chance to reunite with the 1998 World Cup winner at Selhurst Park may be too good to miss.
According to The Athletic, Dolberg spoke with Andersen ahead of his move to South London and was ‘effusive’ about Vieira.
Andersen, a classy and commanding centre-half who captained Fulham for long spells of last season, would put pen to paper on a five-year contract at Crystal Palace a few days later.
“He’s a world-class player,” Vieira said of Dolberg last year.
“You can see it in his runs, his first touch, how he gets in front of his man for crosses. We need to work hard to get the most out of him. He is a hard worker on the pitch.”
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