Chris Richards said Patrick Vieira’s “vision” for the club helped persuade him to sign for Crystal Palace, saying the club’s transfer policy in recruiting young players attracted him to south London.
At 22, Richards fits the mould of recent Palace signings well, but brings several years’ experience with him despite his age.
Explaining why he has put pen to paper with his first Premier League club, the defender said: “The kind of project I’ve seen [attracted me]. It’s a lot of young players but also young players who have a lot of fight. Palace is a club that seems like they’re always fighting, so it’s really good to see that and they have a young core. The coach’s vision for the team informed my path and really brought me to choose Palace.”
Discussing Vieira’s message so far, Richards said: “[He explained] there’s a core of young players but also a core of veterans that keep everybody level-headed.
“He showed me the fight the club has, and over the years the potential we have with the younger guys who are eventually going to become veterans at some point. I’m really looking forward to it and, like I said, Patrick has showed a plan that really seems like it’s going to work.”
Richards joins a team with Marc Guéhi and Joachim Andersen as a formidable partnership in the centre of defence, and with James Tomkins providing additional competition. He has a task on his hands to challenge for a spot, but says he’s aware of the work ahead:
“I know nothing’s going to be given to me but I’m going to give 100% every day,” he said. “I’ll show the trainer why I should be on the field. I know Palace had one of the best defences last year and I just want to add to that.
“I’m a defender that likes to crack people: I like to be physical. I like to play out the back, try to bring calmness on the ball, off the ball, make the challenges that make opponents fear coming to our backline.
“I’m going to give 100% every day and hopefully help the team bring a lot of wins back to Selhurst Park.”