Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha is reportedly set to be offered £110,000-a-week by the Eagles in their bid to fend off interest from Tottenham.
The 24-year-old has been an influential figure for Sam Allardyce’s side this season, scoring six goals and providing nine assists in 26 Premier League appearances.
He provided a timely reminder of his quality with a goal in the surprise win over Chelsea at the weekend, and it appears as though Palace are ready to offer whatever it takes to keep him at Selhurst Park.
According to The Sun, Palace are set to offer Zaha a £110,000-a-week package which will put him on par with Christian Benteke at the top of the salary tree, and that would be triple his current wages as it’s added that he’s currently on £35,000-a-week.
“We would love to keep Wilfried, we will sit down and talk to him as soon as we’re safe and I’m very hopeful of doing so,” chairman Steve Parish told BBC 5 Live.
As noted by the Sun, Tottenham attempted to prise the Ivorian international away from the Eagles last summer with a £12m bid which was immediately dismissed.
However, with no release clause in his contract, it’s expected that Spurs will return with another improved offer at the end of the season to test Palace’s resolve as well as trying to convince Zaha to make the move to north London instead of signing that lucrative new deal.
It promises to be a difficult decision for the winger though as ultimately Palace look to be moving clear of relegation under Allardyce, and will be hopeful of making big improvements next season.
Zaha was given a chance by the club and he’s taken it, and there may be a sense that he owes them. In contrast, Tottenham will give him the chance to compete for trophies as they look to push Chelsea all the way in the title race and continue their impressive progress under Mauricio Pochettino.