'Wanted me': Serie A champion admits Crystal Palace tried to sign him before £15m transfer

Today at 05:45 AM

Reports at the time claimed that Crystal Palace wanted to sign a player who would go on to win the Serie A title shortly after leaving the Premier League for around £15 million.

And, thanks to the presence of Patrick Vieira in the Selhurst Park dugout at the time, it appears that they could have got him too.

Because, speaking about the move which took him from Fulham to Napoli during the summer of 2022, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa has opened up for the first time about the discussions he held regarding a potential switch a few miles down the road to Craven Cottage.

Given that both are powerhouse midfielders who made their name in France – strong, yes, but skilful also – Arsenal icon Vieira is likely to have been a player Zambo Anguissa, born in 1995, admired when falling in love with the beautiful game.

So, when Vieira expressed an interest in taking him to Crystal Palace, no wonder the Cameroon international was keen to hear what he had to say.

Napoli’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa admits Crystal Palace talks

“I like [Vieira] a lot as a man. We also saw each other in London,” Zambo Anguissa recalls. “He was the coach of Crystal Palace and he wanted me there.

“I like talking to him, because he has a lot of ideas. He is a good coach. I like him a lot on a human level. It will be a pleasure to see him again on the Genoa bench but I hope, in any case, that we will win.”

Taking charge of a Serie A club for the first time, former Juventus and Inter Milan ace Vieira is now tasked with leading Genoa – only two points above the relegation zone – into the relative comfort of mid-table.

Vieira’s Genoa side host Napoli on Saturday.

Zambo Anguissa is likely to start against the manager who tried to sign him a couple of years back, having played the full 90 minutes in all but two of Napoli’s league matches under Antonio Conte so far.

Former Fulham ace hails Antonio Conte impact at Napoli

“He is a fantastic coach, I can’t say anything different,” the one-time Marseille and Villarreal schemer adds of Conte. “He always asks for 200 per cent. The tactical requests vary based on the match and the opponents.

“He asks me to have personality, to work well technically. You have to have the right quality to do what the coach asks. It was like this with [Scudetto-winning coach Luciano] Spalletti and it is also like this with Conte.

“He told me to score more and, in my head, I tell myself to do what the coach asks of me. The role, then, can change match after match.”

Zambo Anguissa spent four years in West London between 2018 and 2022. Anguissa struggled as a Fulham player following that £22 million switch, however, though not enough to put Vieira off the idea that a player of such obvious potential could be rehabilitated elsewhere in the capital.

Back in the present, Crystal Palace’s focus ahead of the January transfer window appears to be on bringing another attacking option to Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace like Lyon duo Rayan Cherki and Ernest Nuamah, two wingers cut from Michael Olise’s cloth, while talks have reportedly been held with Millwall youngster Romain Esse.