Jason Cundy has raved about Wilfried Zaha’s latest performance for Crystal Palace and how he ‘wouldn’t look out of place’ at a team like Tottenham Hotspur or Chelsea.
The talkSPORT pundit added that Zaha was ‘absoutley magnificent’ as Patrick Vieira’s side recorded a 2-1 win over Wolves on Tuesday night, with the all-action winger scoring the winning goal.
During the early part of the 29-year-old’s career, he did enter the pressured spotlight of Manchester United – he was Alex Ferguson’s final signing.
But given that Man United declined, and still are, since Ferguson left, then it was never going to be easy for a player that had only tasted Championship football, at that time.
Zaha did return to Palace colours in 2015 for good, and since then, he has gone from strength to strength at his boyhood club, including scoring 14 Premier League goals last season and he has five from nine during this campaign.
Given that the explosive forward is out-of-contract in the summer, Cundy has backed him to play for Spurs or Chelsea and added that he is the reason why we watch football, as he told talkSPORT.
“He was absoutley magnificent,” said Cundy. “The way he played, he is the sort of player that would relish in a Champions League spot.
“He wouldn’t look out of place in a Spurs or Chelsea shirt. That kind of player. I don’t think he would get into Liverpool or Man City’s team.
“I think what we are looking at now is a player who can have that big impact. He has had that big step up to Manchester United. It probably came a little bit too soon for him in his career.
“He gets you off your feet. And he is why we watch football.”
ZAHA SHOULD BE PLAYING EUROPEAN FOOTBALL
Palace have ambitions of their own under Vieira and he will not want to see one of his more important players head for the exit door.
But he will probably have no choice given that he has less than 12 months remaining on his deal, and come next summer, he can pick and choose who he plays for.
The Ivory Coast star is more than good enough to be playing for a team in Europe, but equally, if Palace are to climb and hit heights they have never reached before, then it’s going to be with Zaha in the team.
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