Crystal Palace are preparing for Wilfried Zaha’s exit with Burnley winger Dwight McNeil potentially on his way to join Roy Hodgson’s side.
Crystal Palace are set to step up the chase for £30 million Burnley winger Dwight McNeil after agreeing privately that star man Wilfried Zaha can go if the right offer arrives this summer, according to The Mail.
It always felt inevitable that a homegrown hero would bring an end to his second spell at Selhurst Park eventually.
Zaha has never hid his desire to prove himself at a Champions League club and, as recently as January, the Ivory Coast international hired Pini Zahavi as his agent. Why is that significant? Well, Zahavi is renowned across world football for making big-money moves happen.
The Mail reports that Zaha will be allowed to leave this summer, though only if his £80 million price-tag is met (The Sun). And Crystal Palace appear to be preparing for a worst-case scenario with a replacement lined up.
McNeil is not exactly a like-for-like replacement, more an old-school wide midfielder than a jinking winger, but a man who has shot to fame with Burnley over the last 18 months has the world at his feet.
The one-time Manchester United youngster has produced five assists during his breakthrough season at Turf Moor, his wand of a left-foot and superb delivery from out wide raising suggestions that an England call-up could be on the cards sooner rather than later.
And Palace fans may be hoping that McNeil’s ability to put the ball on a sixpence could provide Christian Benteke with the ammunition he needs to get back to his best. The Mail reports that Everton are interested too, however, and they are perhaps more likely to pay a £30 million fee.
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