[ad_pod ]
Wilfried Zaha has attracted interest from Arsenal this summer following an outstanding Premier League campaign under Roy Hodgson.
But a big discrepancy between Crystal Palace’s valuation of their star man and the price at which the Gunners were hoping to lure him to the Emirates Stadium has reportedly led Unai Emery to pursue other targets.
Indeed, the north Londoners offered half of the Eagles’ £80m asking price and were rejected outright.
Rightly so, the twinkle-toed winger is of far greater value to Palace than he would be to Arsenal, who will undoubtedly find much better value for money elsewhere.
That’s not to say that Zaha wouldn’t transform the Gunners’ attack – Arsenal are crying out for a winger with the Palace number 11’s skill-set, but his importance to Roy Hodgson’s side means that they cannot afford to budge on their eye-watering valuation.
Should Zaha leave, the unenviable task of reconfiguring an entire midfield and attack awaits Hodgson. The current, counter-attack-reliant system cannot exist without the former Manchester United man.
Steve Parish and co will need every penny of that £80m to plug the gaps left exposed by Zaha’s departure and they are right to accept nothing less, although it may cost the player his shot at European football.
With no club as of yet willing to meet Palace’s asking price, the only way teams like Arsenal are going to get the 5 foot 11 speedster for a smaller fee is if the player hands in a transfer request, thus ensuring a sour end to a legendary career at Selhurst Park.
This, of course, would mean that Zaha can reach his full potential and test his skills at the highest level, but it could cost Palace their Premier League status for the 2020/2021 season, with an overhaul of tactics and personnel impossible given a solitary pre-season. Just ask Frank de Boer.
A shot at glory for the tricky winger, then, would almost guarantee tragedy for his boyhood club, while Palace’s inability to let him go on the ‘cheap’ would cost their most-beloved player the opportunity his glittering performances of the past two seasons have deserved him.
It seems that if Zaha is to realise his potential, he must do the unthinkable by following in the footsteps of Marko Arnautovic, whose move to China this month brought an end to a bitter six months at West Ham for both he and the club.
The Austrian demanded that he be sold in January when an unnamed Chinese club came calling but, in a surprising turn of events, signed a contract extension at the end of the month and thus put an end to the speculation, for a while at least.
The Hammers eventually decided to cut their losses this summer and the rebellious forward sealed a £22.4m switch to Shanghai SIPG.
Are Crystal Palace right to slap a £100m valuation on Wilfried Zaha’s head? Check out the video below to see why they are…
The former Stoke man had netted seven league goals prior to his head being turned by a move to China in January and scored just three times thereafter.
Zaha’s performance levels have never dipped as a result of a potential exit, but he’s never spoken so openly about a move away from Selhurst Park before either.
Everyone faithful to Palace should heed the warning sent by the final chapter of Arnautovic’s West Ham career and hope that there is an amicable ending to the Zaha story.