Speaking on a recent episode of the HLTCO podcast, Dan Cook discussed Wilfried Zaha’s recent quotes, and what he feels the winger’s words could mean for his Crystal Palace future.
Following a summer transfer window in which Roy Hodgson confirmed that Zaha had informed him of his desire to leave Crystal Palace, and subsequently no offers for the 27-year-old being made, the winger got off to a decent start for the club in their 2020/21 Premier League campaign, scoring three goals over his first two appearances of the season.
However, in the wake of the Eagles’ 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, Hodgson said that Zaha “has got more to give” for the club, amid questions about the forward’s commitment to Palace.
Last weekend, however, it appeared that Zaha answered those questions, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the club’s 2-1 victory over Fulham, which led Hodgson to clarify that he “was not being negative” and that he had “never doubted his commitment to the cause”.
Zaha himself then spoke out, stating: “I love football, so there is no day when I am not enjoying it really. I have set myself personal goals and that is what I am attacking every day.”
The winger’s quotes were one subject of conversation on a recent episode of the HLTCO podcast, in which Cook discussed what he thought Zaha’s future could look like.
He said: “If you look at Wilfried Zaha’s quote in isolation, he’s quite happy to be playing football for us at the moment. You often get opposition fans claiming that we’re holding him hostage and we’re ruining his career, but you wouldn’t have him saying things like ‘I love playing football’ and ‘there isn’t a day when I’m playing when I’m not enjoying it’ unless he was genuinely pleased to still be part of Palace’s squad.
“I do think there’s something of a tipping point at this stage of his career – he’s about to turn 28 years old. I’ve said on many occasions, once you are a winger who relies quite heavily on pace, truth be told, then top clubs are going to start questioning whether or not a significant outlay is worth their time because of resale value and the years of top-quality output that they’re going to get from him, should they make that financial commitment.
“So, it may well be that next summer, if he doesn’t move in January – and I don’t expect that he will – we don’t have this same saga playing out and instead he’s just happy to stay put and continue his Crystal Palace legacy.”
Do you think Zaha will leave the club in January or next summer?
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TIF Thoughts on Dan Cook’s comments regarding Wilfried Zaha…
From Cook’s comments, it would appear that the podcaster has taken Zaha’s comments to mean that the winger is indeed enjoying his football at Crystal Palace and that there may not be the same level of desire to leave the club from the player in next summer’s transfer window.
However, whether or not Cook is correct in his prediction, only time will tell.