Crystal Palace now fear losing one-time Arsenal target Wilfried Zaha with his contract at Selhurst Park expiring in the summer of 2023.
That’s according to the Daily Mail, who claim that Zaha is not planning to sign a new contract with Palace and could leave for nothing.
This would be a disaster for Palace, but they have been bringing Zaha’s price tag down fairly consistently in recent times.
Palace told Arsenal or Everton to pay £80million for Zaha in the summer of 2019, a fee that neither club were willing to pay.
When Tottenham and Chelsea fancied Zaha last summer, it’s claimed that Palace were demanding £40million – half the price from two years earlier.
Zaha enjoys working under Patrick Vieira, which may just give Palace hope that their star winger will end up staying put.
Now 29 and turning 30 in November, this may be Zaha’s last chance to make a huge move to one of the Premier League’s ‘big six’.
The Ivorian international has racked up more than 400 appearances for Palace and is something of a Selhurst Park hero.
Zaha will ultimately have aspirations above a midtable battle though, with Arsenal and Tottenham potentially alerted by the news.
Arsenal have a number of wide players shining already though, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe thriving.
Maybe if Arsenal sell Zaha’s international teammate Nicolas Pepe, the Palace ace becomes an option for the Gunners again.
It seems unlikely though, given that Zaha is nearing his 30’s and Arsenal are targeting younger players.
Praised as ‘unplayable’ by Tony Cascarino, Zaha could bring pace and skill to the Tottenham attack but again, do they really need him?
Son Heung-min, Steven Bergwijn, Lucas Moura, Dejan Kulusevski… Tottenham have plenty of wide players at Antonio Conte’s disposal too.
The ship may have sailed for Zaha to join Arsenal or Tottenham, even with his price seemingly heading towards bargain territory.
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