The Fiorentina forward told Expressen that the Premier League club made a serious attempt to sign him from Torino during the summer, including a late effort to derail his move to Florence.
Njie ultimately rejected the opportunity to move to England after deciding that Fiorentina represented the best step for his development.
“There were moments when the deal seemed close to completion, but Torino always rejected their offers. While I was on my way to Florence for the medical, Crystal Palace tried to intervene at the last moment to derail the deal.”
The 19-year-old said Palace made one final attempt, but by then his mind was made up.
“But I made it clear immediately that it would be Fiorentina or nothing. They wanted to make one last attempt, but I had already decided on Fiorentina. It was too late.”
Njie had another reason for choosing the Italian club. Fiorentina's young squad and the presence of Paolo Vanoli, his former coach at Torino, made the move particularly attractive.
“That was one of the main reasons I chose Fiorentina. The project they presented to me was very exciting: a young team, with great talent and enormous potential.”
“Paolo Vanoli's presence on the bench also mattered a lot. It is the ideal step for my development.”
The forward had already worked with Vanoli at Torino, where the coach gave him his Serie A debut and was in charge when Njie scored his first goal in Italy's top flight.
“He was the one who gave me my Serie A debut. He was my coach when I scored my first goal in the top flight with Torino. Finding him again is fantastic for my development.”
Njie has quickly settled into his new surroundings and said Fiorentina's supporters made him feel at home despite having little opportunity to explore Florence.
“I have not really had time to discover Florence, so to speak. But I like it very much. The fans made me feel welcome straight away. I already feel at home.”
The attacker also revealed that the decision to turn down Palace was not straightforward, particularly because he had wanted to leave Italy.
“It was a difficult decision because I wanted to leave Italy. However, I felt that Fiorentina had made me a really good offer, so I could not refuse.”
Njie therefore arrived in Florence after turning down a Premier League opportunity, convinced that Fiorentina's youth-focused project offered the best route for his development.