Crystal Palace have joined the race for Ryan Christie's signature as the Celtic midfielder enters the final six months of his contract at Parkhead.

What's the story?

The Eagles have recently appointed Patrick Vieira as their new manager, and the former Nice boss is thought to be a long-term admirer of the Scotland international.

Nice had a bid turned down for Christie a year ago, but he could now be available at a bargain price due to his contractual situation and Vieira is expected to follow up his interest in the creative talent now he's at Selhurst Park, according to the Daily Mail (as reported by the Daily Record).

Vieira can generate success

Christie first caught the eye of the Arsenal legend back in 2019 when he scored both home and away against Nice's Ligue 1 rivals Rennes in the Europa League group stages.

His impressive performances for the Hoops and the national team have earned several plaudits in recent years, including ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton.

“You have to admire his attitude as well as his versatility, to be able to play so many positions at such a high level…he gives it absolutely everything.

"We all know he can produce moments of magic, but he combines it with a ferocious workrate. Christie is a manager’s dream,” claimed Sutton.

In 142 appearances for the Glasgow giants, Christie has bagged 40 goals and provided a further 41 assists, winning six major trophies along the way.

Although he failed to quite hit top form last season, the £6.3m-rated gem still recorded impressive underlying numbers, illustrating the quality he would bring to Palace, should he arrive in south London over the coming months.

Christie made 2.1 key passes per league game throughout 2020/21, had 2.8 shots and provided eight assists, bettering Eberechi Eze on each metric.

While many may correctly point to the higher standard of opposition that Eze faced on a weekly basis last season, these figures still show that Vieira could generate success at Palace by acquiring Christie's services.

Eze is set to be sidelined with a serious injury until the new year, robbing the capital club of one of their most influential attacking forces for a considerable length of time.

Bringing in Christie could be a logical solution to this problem, and Vieira will be surely be hoping that he can finally secure his man this summer.

And, in other news...Get it done: Vieira must sanction £20m CPFC summer swoop for Phil Foden-esque dynamo