The race for Crystal Palace prodigy, Wilfried Zaha has been on-going for the last six or so months, but it really seems to have heated up in recent times.
At 20-years-old, Zaha has earned a reputation for being the best young talent in the Championship. His pace, direct running and footballing nous have made him one of European football’s hottest properties.
Though they will be sad to see him go, most Palace fans will agree: he’s ready to make the step up to the Premier League.
What’s more, it’s not all that surprising that he’s attracting interest from the Premier League’s biggest and best. Indeed, the Daily Mail claims that Manchester United are ‘confident’ of signing the wiley winger, whilst Tottenham have already opened negotiations with Palace.
Crystal Palace are said to want to £20m to persuade them to sell, a significant investment for a player with no experience at the very top level.
I’m sure the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United will be using any means necessary to attempt to bring this fee down. Spurs are said to be willing to sign Zaha and then loan him back to Crystal Palace for the next six months. This may make them a more attractive proposition than United.
But if you were to ask the player himself, who he’d prefer to go to, I’m sure he’d say: ‘Manchester United’. After all, who wouldn’t want to play for the biggest team in the country? It’s not like he’d be starved of opportunities at Old Trafford.
Question marks still remain over Nani’s future at Manchester United, Ashley Young is looking worse and worse on a weekly basis and Ryan Giggs has to retire sometime. Suffice to say, there is room for Wilfried Zaha in this squad and it’s not difficult to foresee him becoming a regular over the next couple of seasons.
Whilst there’s ample space for him at Tottenham as well, I don’t think White Hart Lane represents quite so attractive a prospect to a young player as Old Trafford.
There’s a long way left to run in this particular race and nobody knows for sure where he’ll end up. I can’t help but feel, however, that the best place for him will be Manchester United. Nobody moulds and shapes a player better than Sir Alex Ferguson and he’ll fit in nicely at a club with a long history of talented wingers.
What’s your take? Where does Wilfried Zaha’s future lie?
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