Crystal Palace have rejected an approach for winger Wilfried Zaha from Tottenham Hotspur.
Crystal Palace have rejected an approach for winger Wilfried Zaha from Tottenham Hotspur as Spurs look to bring the winger to White Hart Lane in the final days of the transfer window.
Zaha has left Selhurst Park once before for a bigger challenge but soon returned after an unsuccessful attempt at life at Old Trafford. This time, should he stay put? It’s time to look at the pros and cons of the winger staying at Palace.
Pros
Regular first-team football
With the likes of Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Deli Alli, Moussa Dembele and Josh Onomah, the attacking midfield positions are an area with huge competition at Spurs, so the winger will not be guaranteed a starting place even with extra football that the Champions League will bring.
At Palace he will get regular games under Alan Pardew, who has improved the winger’s overall performance since joining the club.
Not yet the finished article
He made a bold move back in 2013 to join Manchester United, where he failed to make the impact required to force his way into the side, resulting in a loan to Cardiff City.
He is starting to come into his own at Palace and see consistent performances in the side, so would it be naive for him to move on now?
Allowing himself another year at least to play consistently could be the best thing for him. Another year will allow him to develop his game further and then join a club like Tottenham ready to be a regular in the side rather than a squad player.
Main man at Palace
With Yannick Bolasie joining Everton earlier this month, it has certainly given Zaha a greater responsibility as he will likely now be the spearhead of attacks from midfield.
There will be far more pressure on the former Manchester United man to deliver, which could see the best of Zaha. Bolasie seemed to grab the limelight with his flamboyancy so him leaving the club will allow Zaha to take centre stage.
Cons
No Champions League football
Of course the attraction of playing in Europe’s elite club competition would have lured Zaha into joining the club, so it will be an opportunity missed if he does not move.
All players want to have the chance to play in the Champions League and given the group Tottenham have, it would surely have been a chance to play in the latter stages.
Missed out on chance to work with Maurcio Pochettino
Pochettino has had success at Southampton and now Tottenham with developing young talent, and it could have been perfect for Pochettino and Zaha to work together.
The Argentine has been able to develop players during his spell at Southampton and Tottenham including the likes of English quartet Adam Lallana, Deli Alli, Eric Dier, and Harry Kane.
Despite the winger’s talents, it is evident that the 23-year-old needs to improve on his end product with only two goals and one assist last term. He did complete the most successful crosses, dribbles attempted and dribbles completed in the Palace side last term, so with some more tweaking could the Argentine change those final stats?
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