Former Chelsea defender Marc Guehi has recalled signing for Crystal Palace and manager Patrick Vieira.

Guehi was bordering on signing for Crystal Palace in 2021, and was told the club's new manager Vieira wanted to talk.

“Someone sent me his number and said: 'This is Patrick Vieira's number. He'll call you soon,'" he recalled to Palace's website.

“I'm just there almost panicking; I don't know when he's going to call. He ended up calling, we had a really good conversation – he even spoke to my parents, which was really nice of him – and from there I could just sense the belief he had in me and what he wanted to achieve here at Palace.

“I was a little bit star-struck when he called me. It's so strange having Patrick Vieira call."

Vieira's influence may be a persuasive force on prospective signings, but for Guéhi the decision to join Palace didn't require much debate.

“[The phone call] wasn't too long. I already had in my head what I wanted to do but having the conversation with him was pretty much an icing on the cake.

“I could see what was going on with the club – they'd moved a few players on from a successful period maintaining their place in the Premier League and obviously [had] the manager coming in. So I could see where the club was going and felt like I could fit in that."