Arsenal’s hunt for the signature of Wilfried Zaha may have taken another twist after the forward reportedly told Crystal Palace of his desire to leave.
According to Sky Sports News, Zaha has notified his club of his decision, while Sky Sports also note that Arsenal are expected to raise their bid for the Ivorian – following their initial £40m bid earlier this month.
The 26-year-old, who scored 10 times in the Premier League last season, has recently been involved in the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, as his national side made the quarter-finals of the competition in Egypt – where The Elephants were knocked out by Sunday’s finalists Algeria on penalties.
Sky Sports believe Zaha prefers a move to Arsenal, though the financial restraints at the club – with The Gunners reportedly only having around £40m to spend this summer – have hampered the team’s transfer business so far, with only one signing secured – while the club are yet (at the time of writing) to confirm a deal for Saint-Etienne defender William Saliba.
Former Manchester United man Zaha has previous at The Emirates, scoring in Palace’s 3-2 win towards the end of last season, which proved influential in Arsenal’s eventual fifth-place finish in the league that saw them miss out on Champions League football for the coming season.
Goal have previously reported that Zaha remains a top target at Arsenal, and claims that the player wants to leave will surely give The Gunners a boost in any further negotiations.
Palace had reportedly previously valued Zaha at an eye-watering £120m, according to The Sun – a value which would almost double Arsenal’s record signing (their £57.4m purchase of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).
And based on the notion that The Gunners have around a third of that sum to play with this summer, a move for Zaha has looked unlikely with that in mind – especially with other targets in the pipeline, as Arsenal close in on a Saliba deal thought to be worth around an initial €33m (£29.7m).
However, this latest development could see Palace receive another Gunners offer for their wantaway star.
Arsenal fans, will the club land Zaha this summer? Join the discussion by commenting below…
