Aston Villa correspondent Ashley Preece has claimed that the club could move for Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha in the New Year.

The Lowdown: Zaha speculation

The Ivory Coast wizard is out of contract at Selhurst Park at the end of the season and doesn’t appear to be close to signing an extension, despite being verbally offered a pay rise.

Villa Park has been named as a potential destination for the 30-year-old, who has previously been described as “unplayable” by talkSPORT pundit Darren Ambrose.

The Latest: Preece’s comments

Preece shared a notebook for Birmingham Live on Wednesday where he was asked various Villa-related questions.

One of those was transfer related on who Villa could sign in the New Year, to which Preece said: “Keep an eye on Zaha... could be interesting given his contract situation.”

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The Verdict: A-list forward

Unai Emery is after a new A-list attacker in the New Year who can play anywhere across the front three, something that Zaha can do.

The Ivory Coast international has plenty of Premier League experience and enjoyed his best season in front of goal last year, netting 14 times in the top flight.

You’d expect that he still has plenty left in the tank at the highest level, so a cut-price move in January could prove to be a wise one for NSWE to consider - and as Preece mentions, one to watch closely.