Tottenham Hotspur have reignited their interests for Crystal Palace winger, Wilfried Zaha who reportedly could cost over £50m. The 25-year-old’s current contract with the Eagles is set to run until the summer of 2022 and Roy Hodgson had already fended off interests for the winger in the January transfer window.
Zaha has registered 7 goals and 11 assists for the Eagles and helped them avoid relegation last season. His stint with Manchester United did not go according to plan with the Ivorian falling out of favour with the former manager, David Moyes even before the season started. He registered only 4 appearances under him before eventually returning to his boyhood club.
Palace started the current season poorly heavily affected by the knee injury of Zaha. After his recovery and the appointment of Hodgson as head coach, Palace have found the motivation to put up a fight instead of sliding down to the Championship.
Zaha has been a key figure with 4 goals and 2 assists in 20 total appearances. The former United player is as flamboyant and shifty as any winger can get. With an arsenal of skills and blistering pace, he is a defender’s nightmare on his best days and deserves a second shot at an elite level club.
Tottenham already has one of the youngest squads in the league and are currently looking for a winger. They have bolstered the ranks through the signing of Lucas Moura in the January window but the Brazilian is yet to find his feet under Mauricio Pochettino.
The North London club came back from 2-0 down to draw against previous season’s Champions League finalists, Juventus last week. Pochettino’s men maintained their poise against the experienced European contenders to come away with 2 huge away goals.
Pochettino had the options of Lucas, Moussa Sissoko and Erik Lamela on the wings and chose to go with the latter. While Lamela did work hard off the ball, the Argentine still needs to shrug off the rest that has accumulated over his 13-month absence due to injury.
Sissoko, on the other hand, has lacked quality ever since the start of the season and cannot be relied upon in such big fixtures. Pochettino is well aware of the depth a squad needs to compete in multiple competitions in a single season. He paid the price in the earlier stages of the campaign when Champions League football was scheduled along with the Premier League matches in a single week and his team started to drop crucial points.
Zaha is the perfect addition to the Tottenham’s attacking jigsaw on the left wing alongside the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Heung Son-min. Pochettino should be provided with the financial backing to rival the interests of cash stacked sides like Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
