Four ex-Crystal Palace players who would have excelled under Patrick Vieira

There are some ex-Crystal Palace players who would have watched last season and felt like they joined the club at the wrong time.

After several years of defensive tactics, the Eagles are looking more expansive under Patrick Vieira, and some of the club’s former stars will feel they would have thrived under the French World Cup winner.

Palace finished 12th in the league table with 48 points, just one short of their Premier League all-time best tally of 49, and crowned the season off with an an impressive 1-0 win over Manchester United on the final day.

The prospects are bright and hope hasn’t been higher at Selhurst Park in years, heading into Patrick Vieira’s second season at the club.

The summer transfer window has kicked off and there will be players brought in to add quality, generate competition and freshen up the team as they look to build on last season.

But which of the club’s ex-players would have been a delight to watch under the tutelage of Vieira and his coaching team.

José Campaña

The midfielder came from Sevilla for £1.5million in 2013, and big things were expected when he signed his four-year contract.

His touch was brilliant and he tried to assimilate and feel a part of the club, but he could only manage just six Premier League games before he was shipped out to Nuremberg.

He is thriving now for Levante in La Liga and it’s hard not to think how he could have been in this current Palace team under the coaching staff.

Yannick Bolasie

The exciting winger spent fours seasons at Selhurst Park and won over the fans with his dancing feet.

There was a time he was in the same league as Wilfried Zaha, but his move to Everton was the beginning of the end.

On his day, he had the ability to set fire on Selhurst and win games on his own, and he was being looked at by some of the best teams before moving to Goodison Park.

The success of Michael Olise on the wings is proof enough that Bolasie would have been a massive hit on both flanks under Patrick Vieira.

Yohan Cabaye

What a player the French midfielder was for the Eagles, up there with some of the best to have worn the red and blue.

Not many Premier League clubs can boast signing players from PSG, but that was the case when Cabaye arrived in south London.

Straight away he folded his sleeves and got to work, and credit to him he stuck around and played out all his three years before moving on to Al Nasri in Dubai.

He is the kind of player with the quality to rival any midfielder in the Premier League when he wanted to play, and not many could touch him.

His quality and temperament in this current team would have been a thing of beauty and most of the fans would have appreciated him even more.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

A return to Selhurst Park still could happen, but Nathaniel Clyne’s performances at right back give hope of how good Aaron Wan-Bissaka could be in this Vieira set up.

Strong and almost unbeatable in a one v one situation, he could be the final cog in the defensive set up that impressed last season.

He is Palace through and through and would benefit from the possession-based tactics from this current Palace technical team.

There are reports that Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag will look to move him on and were he to be made available, Palace would be one of the teams scrambling for his services.