Journalist Tom Barclay has tipped Wilfried Zaha to leave Crystal Palace on a free transfer next summer.
That looks the most likely outcome for Zaha at the moment, according to the reporter, who delivered this bad piece of news for Palace fans to Give Me Sport.
“The noises I’ve got, not to say that this is what’s going to happen, is that the most likely outcome at the moment is that he will leave on a free next summer,” Barclay said.
“Obviously, he’d stand to make a lot of money from any move he would make with the signing-on fee and wages.
“Also, being a free transfer, he may finally get that move to an elite club, not to disparage Palace, which he’s pushed for many times over the years. That probably seems the most likely outcome at the moment.”
The Ivory Coast international has been a world class performer in the Premier League for a number of years now, and it would be interesting to see where he ends up if he does leave Selhurst Park.
Chelsea were linked with Zaha in the summer by ESPN, and in truth, the Blues look like they could still do with bringing in a talent like that to give them an upgrade on the likes of Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech.
Timo Werner left in the summer, while the struggling Callum Hudson-Odoi went out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen, and the club have never really found that replacement for Eden Hazard since his move away in 2019.
Zaha could do the job for Chelsea, and it would surely be tempting for him to finally link up with a big six side capable of winning the biggest trophies.