The Athletic reporter Patrick Boyland has been discussing the transfer link between Everton and Crystal Palace attacker Wilfried Zaha.
According to a recent report from The Mirror, the Toffees still have an interest in signing the Ivorian forward from the Eagles this summer.
Supposedly, Carlo Ancelotti is an admirer of Zaha and that will lead the Merseyside club to attempt to sign the player again, after seeing two bids rejected for him last year.
In the latest episode of The Athletic’s Gwlad Tidings podcast, Boyland shared his thoughts on the transfer links between the Toffees and the forward.
He said: “You only have to look back to the General Meeting in January, where Marcel Brands says that [signing Zaha] was unrealistic at the time. Are Crystal Palace going to have changed the valuation of their star player? I’d argue not substantially.
“That’s not to say Everton don’t like the player. We know that he’s got his admirers at Everton. We also know, by the way, that Marco Silva was one of those admirers last summer, so he’s lost one of them.
“But there are other people at Everton that like him, including Farhad Moshiri. He is a very good player obviously, Wilfried Zaha, and he would improve Everton.
“I think from our indications, what we’ve been told is that while Everton harbour some interest in him, and I stress the word ‘some’ – I’m not saying that he’s a top, top target. While they harbour some interest, we’ve been told that at this stage, i.e. 30th July 2020, it is unlikely that Wilfried Zaha will be an Everton player next season.
“I just think there are a range of impediments from transfer fee, to wages, to potential other interest in Wilfried Zaha.”
TIF Thoughts…
It seems that despite the report from The Mirror suggesting the contrary, the Toffees will not be returning to try and sign Zaha this summer.
Do you believe that Everton will bid for Wilfried Zaha again this summer?
No, it seems unlikely
Yes, I think we might
While the Eagles have lowered their valuation of their star player from the £100m that they were requesting last summer, it is unclear by how much.
So, unless their valuation has dropped substantially, perhaps it is no surprise that Everton will not be returning for the attacker.