Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha celebrates scoring against Burnley
AS Roma could stun Crystal Palace by launching a move for Wilfried Zaha, according to Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb (via Sport Witness).
The lowdown
The Eagles are in a vulnerable position with the Ivory Coast international, who is now into the final 12 months of his £130,000-per-week contract.
Palace know that, come January, their £34.2m-rated asset will be able to negotiate pre-contract terms with clubs outside England. Therefore, unless they can tie him down to a new deal, this summer may be their final opportunity to cash in on the 29-year-old.
Roma, who are managed by Jose Mourinho, won the Europa Conference League in May to book a place in next season’s Europa League.
The latest
According to TuttoMercatoWeb (via Sport Witness), Roma are ‘strongly considering’ a formal offer for Zaha, having already made contact over a potential deal.
It is said that the move would very much catch Crystal Palace ‘by surprise’, and Mourinho is a big fan of the Ivorian, in particular the ‘versatility’ that he offers in attack.
The verdict
Zaha’s importance to Palace is abundantly clear. He was the top scorer for Patrick Vieira’s side last season with 15 goals, almost twice as many as his nearest challenger Conor Gallagher (eight).
He was also second in the squad from a creative standpoint, with only Michael Olise (0.27) able to better his record of 0.16 expected assists per 90 minutes.
How many signings do Palace need this summer?
0-2
3-5
6+
Judging by this report, it seems like Palace weren’t planning for his potential exit this summer, so it could rock them ahead of the new season.
You’d hope that they would have at least made some contingency plans, with Zaha’s contract gradually winding down at Selhurst Park.
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