Crystal Palace are after recently relegated Burnley winger Dwight McNeil in an attempt to bolster their attacking options.

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Sun, who claim that Patrick Vieira has joined the race for the former Premier League star.

The Clarets would not be willing to part with their main man for any less than £10m, which is currently what the interested clubs are willing to pay.

It is thought to be a straight battle between Palace and West Ham to land this tricky attacker.

Imagine him and Zaha

Wilfried Zaha has been a fan favourite at Selhurst Park for some time now, with the skilful winger sticking with Palace despite many claiming he could have played well above that level.

Now it seems that a youthful exuberance has washed over them, and the Ivory Coast international is now surrounded by a squad brimming with talent, courtesy of Patrick Vieira.

One player who could add to this abundance of ability is McNeil, who was relegated last season with Burnley.

Although he went an entire Premier League season without scoring last year, he did manage to appear in all 38 league games.

Across that season he did manage to maintain a 7.03 average SofaScore rating, suggesting that even though the statistics do not back up his ability, he was still one of Burnley’s better performers.

In fact, his rating was only bettered by three centre-backs amongst his teammates.

Sean Dyche has been full of praise for him throughout his Clarets career, and had the following to say after McNeil’s performance had steered them to victory back in late 2019.

He labelled him “fantastic", claiming "he’s a real talent."

Dyche continued: “He’s a really good player, he’s improving, his calmness at the end - I’m saying get it in the corner - but he cuts in, and his calmness to cross it into a dangerous area, and then gets his reward.”

Palace are stacked with forward-thinking attackers full of flair, but in McNeil they would get a grafter who could offer a different dynamic for their side.

He ranks in the 99th percentile for blocks, the 98th percentile for interceptions and the 88th percentile for tackles per 90, outlining him as a defensive asset as well as possessing the capability to attack.

With Zaha given the creativity to attack and allowing McNeil to deal with the defensive side, it could further unlock the skilful 29-year-old and see his Palace career further catapulted to legend status.

AND, in other news: Vieira can unearth his next Gallagher as Palace plot bid for “sensational” £20m talent.