Crystal Palace are poised to join the race for Celtic star Ryan Christie.
The Parkhead playmaker only has six months to run on his Hoops deal and is available for a cut-price fee this summer.
French outfit Nice are long time admirers of the 26-year-old and remain in the hunt for Christie’s signature after having a bid for him knocked back a year ago.
Then, they were managed by Patrick Vieira, who is on the verge of being named Palace ’s new boss and
MailSport understands that if the Arsenal legend gets the job, he will make landing Christie a priority for the London club.
Vieira’s attention was first caught by Christie back in his native France.
He was hugely impressed by the midfielder’s Europa League performances against Rennes in 2019, when he scored both home and away for Neil Lennon’s side in the group stage clashes.
Palace, who parted company with boss Roy Hodgson at the end of the last campaign, are desperately in need of new faces at the club.
They flirted with relegation last season and they have a raft of players out of contract.
If Vieira is unveiled as expected this week, he faces a massive squad overhaul at Selhurst Park if Palace are not to face another season-long fight against the drop.
Nice are now bossed by Lille’s title winning coach Christophe Galtier, who is also keen on reinforcing their year-long pursuit of Christie.
Celtic are in no rush to offload the man who was part of Scotland’s Euro 2020 squad.
New Parkhead gaffer Ange Postecoglou wants Christie in his squad for their Champions League qualifying clash against Danes FC Midjtylland.
But he has also made it clear that he only wants players who are fully committed to the club in the long term.
Christie does not fall into that category as he has so little time left on his contract and there appears to be no chance of him signing a new one.
That has sparked interest from both France and the Premier League and looks set to see him leave.
