Wilfried Zaha could leave Crystal Palace in the summer as the London club look to cash in on the 29-year-old before his contract expires in 2023.
It seems like every summer that Zaha is been linked with a move away from Crystal Palace but now an Eagles team without their star player is becoming an increasingly more acceptable scenario behind the scenes at Selhurst Park, according to the Daily Mail.
This is a result of the club becoming increasingly more confident about being able to cope without the Ivory Coast international, thanks to the emergence of Michael Olise this season and Eberechi Eze during the last campaign.
Crystal Palace have been flying high this season, with the London club sat in the top half of the Premier League at present and will play Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final next week at Wembley.
The London club have relied on Zaha’s ability for a long time now, which still hasn’t dwindled, as seen in the Eagles’ 3-0 win over Arsenal on Monday night.
Zaha has played at the club since he was a boy, starting way back in 2004. He got his big break with Man United in 2013 but was back in a Palace shirt on loan during the 2014/15 season before the Eagles made the move permanent during that summer. That chance might just come around again this summer but it remains to be seen who is interested in the 29-year-old.
In many ways, not much has changed with Palace’s attitude to selling Zaha; they’ve always been open to selling, dating back to when Zaha infamously tried to force a move away in 2019 – but the fact of the matter is no club matched their valuation.
Whatever price tag Palace place on Zaha’s head will determine whether there is a substantial market for the forward, as he is not as valuable at 29-years-old and if there are doubts about his age it is highly likely clubs would wait just another year to make their move.
The question is, who would want Zaha? Manchester United have plenty of players in that position and would be better off developing Anthony Elanga or trying to bring the best back out of Marcus Rashford, to partner up with Jadon Sancho. So that avenue would seem to be closed.
Arsenal could be a good option for the 29-year-old, as an upgrade on the out-of-form and out-of-favour Nicolas Pepe. However, with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka seen as the future of the club and performing as such, would Zaha want to be a rotation player for the two youngsters and would Arsenal want to pay big money for a backup? That remains to be seen, but the Gunners could do a lot worse as they surely prepare to make some changes to their attack this summer. His performance against Mikel Arteta’s side on Monday night surely won’t have done his chances any harm either.
A serious contender for the winger could be Newcastle United, with their newfound riches. The Magpies could afford the fee and there is a place for Zaha on his favourite left-hand side there, pushing Allan Saint-Maximin to the right. This could also be a good motivator for the 29-year-old to perform as he begins to enter his thirties. Newcastle could be seen as a challenge for the Ivorian and if the winger performs could still be there when they eventually reach the levels they are trying to get to.