Arsenal are reportedly set to battle Tottenham for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.
Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha in action with Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko
According to The Sun, Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce wants Carl Jenkinson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in exchange for Arsenal target Wilfried Zaha.
Saturday’s 5-0 defeat at Manchester City leaves Palace back in relegation trouble once again, despite impressive recent wins over Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Whether Palace go down or not, the club will spend most of the summer attempting to fend off interest in star winger Wilfried Zaha, who has hit six goals and nine assists in 33 Premier League appearances.
The Ivorian has been one of the stars of the season, and The Sun believe that Arsenal are now ready to fight North London rivals Tottenham for his signature this summer.
Whilst Spurs have been leading the chase having failed with a bid for Zaha last summer, it’s now believed that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger wants to land Zaha in a £30million swoop at the end of the season.
Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gestures
However, Palace boss Sam Allardyce may have other ideas, as the report states that he would like a swap deal, in which Arsenal would give up Carl Jenkinson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in order to land Zaha.
Jenkinson, 25, played under Allardyce at West Ham United during the 2014-15 season, and could be seen as Palace’s right back for the foreseeable future, rather than Joel Ward or now-centre back Martin Kelly.
With just one Premier League start to his name this season, Jenkinson’s career is stagnating with Arsenal, and a move to Palace – which Allardyce actually attempted to push through in January – could be ideal.
Arsenal’s Carl Jenkinson in action with Southampton’s Sofiane Boufal
Meanwhile, midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain is out of contract in 2018, and there appears to be little sign of him signing a new deal in the immediate future, meaning Arsenal may be forced to cash in this summer.
Palace would view the 23-year-old England international as a major coup and a direct replacement for Zaha, but whether the Gunners would part ways with him in order to land Zaha remains to be seen.
Would you give up Jenkinson and Oxlade-Chamberlain to get Zaha?
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