Crystal Palace must do all they can to keep Wilfried Zaha at Selhurst Park in the summer with the £36m rated gem a potential target for top clubs.
What’s the story?
Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson has urged his former club to sign Zaha insisting he is ‘a better player now’ than when they tried to previously sign him back in 2019.
The 29-year old winger who was dubbed “electric” by GOAL was a target for the Gunners during Unai Emery’s reign, but Arsenal’s £40m bid was not enough to persuade the South London club to sell.
He even handed in a transfer request at the time to try and force a move through but he ended up staying at Selhurst Park.
With his contract expiring next summer, now could be the time for Arsenal to get him at a reduced price.
Zaha is vital for Vieira
As a result of standing their ground, Palace have reaped the rewards with Zaha proving to be a star player since.
The Ivory Coast international is the Eagles’ top scorer this season with ten goals and has been key to manager Vieira’s positive start at the club.
However, it’s not just goal scoring that Palace rely on – Zaha ranks in the 90th percentile for passes into the penalty area when compared to other wingers in Europe’s big five leagues this season.
He also ranks the highest in the Palace squad when it comes to passes that lead to a shot attempt at 51 so far this campaign, proving his distribution and playmaking is simply crucial.
Despite these contributions, his manager still believes he has “potential to fulfil” and called on him to show more consistency.
There’s no doubting that’s a challenge that Zaha will relish with him saying that he feels like he “performs better” when he’s under the added pressure.
Seeing him attract interest from several big clubs isn’t a new thing. During his first stint with the Eagles, he was targeted by then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
He made the move to Old Trafford in 2013 for £10.5m just after the Scottish manager retired, but it didn’t quite work out for him during a period where United declined.
Zaha made only 14 Premier League appearances for the Red Devils and didn’t score once before he eventually moved back to Palace in 2015 for a fraction of the price (£3.4m)
His value has once again soared, but if Palace are to continue thriving under Vieira they may need him to stick around for longer. Anything less would be seen as a disaster for Steve Parish and co.
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