According to Sky Italy, Roma and José Mourinho have now made contact to sign Arsenal and Tottenham target Wilfried Zaha.
What’s the story?
Well, it seems Roma have made the first concrete move for the £130,000-a-week Crystal Palace forward.
Sky Italy believe contact has been made with Zaha’s representatives, after the Ivory Coast international was offered to the UEFA Conference League winners.
However, Roma will have to sell some players before they can afford a move for the 29-year-old.
Mourinho’s pursuit of Zaha comes after Arsenal and Tottenham expressed an interest in signing him, with the Crystal Palace No.11 now into the final 12 months of his contract at Selhurst Park.
The Ivorian turns 30 in November, but he has just recorded the best goalscoring campaign of his career so far with 15 goals in all competitions last season.
Patrick Vieira will be keen to keep Zaha, although with the likes of Ebere Eze and Michael Olise in south London, the Eagles have never been this well-equipped to deal with the loss of their talisman.
Arsenal & Tottenham must be alert
Depending on what price Roma are quoted for Zaha, we feel Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte should get involved.
With his contract expiring in June 2023, Zaha represents an interesting market opportunity this summer, and if Crystal Palace express a willingness to sell for £40m or less, the north Londoners should rival Mourinho.
After all, we’re talking about a forward with 278 Premier League appearances to his name, as well as 61 goals and 27 assists in England’s top-flight.
Furthermore, Zaha has spent almost all of his career in London, so he would surely have no problems settling in at Arsenal or Tottenham.
These are not easy numbers to achieve, so the Gunners and Spurs must stay attentive to Roma’s pursuit.
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