"It's so strange" - Former Chelsea defender claims Patrick Vieira's call got him to leave Stamford Bridge

Former Chelsea defender Marc Guehi has opened up on the situation surrounding this decision to leave Stamford Bridge for Selhurst Park in 2021.

The Crystal Palace center-back explained that while he was on the verge of signing for the Eagles, it was a call from manager Patrick Vieira that made it happen.

Speaking to the Crystal Palace website (via Tribal Football), the 22-year-old explained:

“Someone sent me his number and said: 'This is Patrick Vieira's number. He'll call you soon.'"

🚨 Chelsea have sold Marc Guehi to Crystal Palace, fee expected to be £15-20m ✅ ( David Ornstein ) https://t.co/XGHNJlt4EK

He added:

“I'm just there almost panicking; I don't know when he's going to call. He ended up calling, we had a really good conversation – he even spoke to my parents, which was really nice of him – and from there I could just sense the belief he had in me and what he wanted to achieve here at Palace.

“I was a little bit star-struck when he called me. It's so strange having Patrick Vieira call. [The phone call] wasn't too long. I already had in my head what I wanted to do but having the conversation with him was pretty much an icing on the cake.

“I could see what was going on with the club – they'd moved a few players on from a successful period maintaining their place in the Premier League and obviously [had] the manager coming in. So I could see where the club was going and felt like I could fit in that."

The former Chelsea defender has secured a consistent slot in Crystal Palace's starting lineup

While he impressed enough at Cobham to gain a seat in the first team at Chelsea, Guehi played just two cup games for the Blues, going out on loan to Swansea instead.

His performances during the loan spell in the Championship were enough to convince Crystal Palace to make their move for the center-back.

Marc Guehi captains Crystal Palace for the 1st time today, having only joined them this summer from Chelsea. 👏🏻

No surprise to anyone who has watched the 21 year old ex-Chelsea Loanee, either at Youth level or on loan at Swansea.

Another Cobham star shining. ⭐️ https://t.co/9gv1AhYYRO

Since leaving Chelsea for the Eagles, the England international has played over 50 games. He has been a vital piece of the chessboard for Vieira this season, racking up 12 starts in the Premier League.

The defender will hope his performances are impressive enough for Gareth Southgate to include him in the Three Lions squad, as the Qatar World Cup looms.