Ex-Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway has said that Zaha should either play for a top club or continue at Crystal Palace.
The 26-year-old winger has been subjected to much speculation this summer, with Everton, Chelsea and Arsenal all interested in the Ivorian, according to The Telegraph.
Crystal Palace want £80million for Zaha, yet nobody has gotten close to that offer, however, Everton are allegedly weighing up a £60million offer with the addition of Cenk Tosun.
While Arsenal would be preferred for Zaha, it seems as if they might struggle to stump up the £80million wanted by Palace due to their financial restrictions.
However, Zaha’s former manager Ian Holloway – who managed the club when Zaha played a pivotal role in their promotion to the Premier League – said he should hold out for a move for a top club, even suggesting Barcelona and Real Madrid as potential options.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “I think that right now he needs to be at a top, top club. If not, stay where you’re loved.
“I’ve got nothing against Everton, I love Everton and the whole city and they love their football up there and they’re growing and getting better, but really he needs to play in the Premier League at the top of it if he can.
“I’d have loved Man City to have bought him but they chose Mahrez – only because I have a personal interest in the boy because he deserves to allow that wonderful ability to shine out of him for us all to see. I think he’ll win games at the very top.
“If Gareth Bale is surplus to requirements then why can’t Real Madrid get him, or Barcelona? I’d love to see him in one of these shirts, I think he’s that good. I do.”
Wilfried Zaha is Crystal Palace’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League and scored a career-best of 10 goals in the league last season.
Ian Holloway knows Zaha well from his time at Palace, when he was just a 20-year-old with big expectations. It speaks volumes of the player’s ability and mindset that Holloway thinks he is capable of playing for clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid.
It’s hard to fathom why Zaha would want to give up everything he’s worked to at Palace to abandon it for a team who are only slightly better than them. If he did leave for them he would surely tarnish his god-like status within Selhurst Park; if he left for a top team, Palace fans could understand.
