Vieira is in his third season as head coach of New York City in MLS

Nice are increasingly confident that Patrick Vieira will join them as coach this summer. The former Arsenal captain is in his third season as head coach at New York City in the MLS but there has been mounting speculation about a return to Europe.

The French club, who finished in eighth position in Ligue 1, one point off the Europa League places, have been chasing Vieira for weeks after losing Lucien Favre to Borussia Dortmund.

Vieira, 41, had been widely tipped for a return to Arsenal to replace Arsène Wenger but his former club appointed Unai Emery. In an interview in The Times to launch a series of World Cup columns, Vieira reveals that he had one conversation by telephone with the Arsenal hierarchy, but