Journalist Dean Jones has been speaking on the Chasing Green Arrows YouTube channel about Wilfried Zaha and his future from Crystal Palace.
It has recently been reported that the Eagles talisman is of interest to Chelsea, which will surely be a worry for Patrick Vieira as he cannot afford to lose him late in the window and have no time to replace the Ivorian.
However, Palace may well see this as the best outcome if they can cash in on Zaha now, given he has just one year left on his contract and talks of a new one are yet to get anywhere near an advanced stage. Although, seeing him turn out for another Premier League outfit would likely be a hard watch for supporters.
Jones believes that Zaha may now see this as his final and best chance to get a big move and play European football.
He said: “I think Chelsea and Arsenal are both fair bets to have a go at getting Zaha. Both clubs are looking for someone of his style. He’s direct, he gets at people; he has got better.
Should Palace sell Zaha this summer?
Yes!
No!
“I think he might have realised that this is it now, this is the peak moment for him, like, it’s now or never; you can’t really stay at Crystal Palace if that big club does now come for you.
“He’ll win you penalties, he’ll score you goals, get assists, I could see him being a good fit for Chelsea, to be honest – if you’ve got Sterling and Zaha in that attack, I think it’d be a really nice combination.”
TIF Thoughts on Zaha’s future…
It is certainly a very tricky situation that Palace find themselves in as they won’t want to lose their star man – who’s only got better in front of goal over the last few seasons, finishing as the club’s top scorer in back-to-back campaigns, though his contractual situation can’t be ignored.
If Palace were able to command a sizeable fee for Zaha, who is Premier League-proven, selling their best player to improve the entire squad could well be the best move, especially in the long term considering the winger will be 30 later this year and may not have many years left at the very peak of his powers.