Patrick Vieira backed to pique interest of big guns after superb start at Palace

The Premier League’s leading clubs will be closely monitoring Patrick Vieira’s second season with Crystal Palace after making an ‘outstanding’ impact at Selhurst Park, according to former Eagles striker Clinton Morrison.

The Frenchman’s first year in south London was a resounding success, from his side’s stunning win at Manchester City in October to their brilliant FA Cup semi-final run.

Add a career-high 14 league goals for lynchpin Wilfried Zaha and a breakthrough campaign from loanee Conor Gallagher and it is no wonder Vieira was shortlisted for the Premier League manager of the season award.

“He’s done an outstanding job,” said Morrison, who scored more than 100 goals in his two spells with the club, told the PA news agency.

“No disrespect to Palace, it is my team, I was there nine-and-a-half years, but there will be big teams looking at Patrick Vieira.

“The style of play, to evolve that quickly, was sensational. He got the best out of players. He’s one of the best midfielders the Premier League has ever seen, and I think he will be one of the best managers.”

Morrison’s assessment echoed that of 93 per cent of Palace fans who answered yes to the question “is your manager the right man to take the club forward?” in Sky Bet’s 2022 Fan Hope survey results, released Monday.

The study of 1,600 UK-based Premier League fans, evenly split across all 20 clubs, revealed Palace supporters were the seventh-most confident in their man at the helm.

Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp led the pack with a 99 per cent approval rating, one point ahead of Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, while only 66 per cent had confidence  in Southampton’s last-placed Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Klopp was also overwhelmingly voted the top manager in the Premier League,