Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has admitted he will again have a fight on his hands to keep much-touted Everton target Wilfried Zaha at Selhurst Park this summer.
Zaha has been linked so often with Everton amid claims his transfer to Goodison Park is virtually certain, that it’s almost a surprise not to see him lining up in a royal blue shirt on match day!
Then yet again in the run up to last month’s transfer window this story resurfaced with further reports that he would finally be on his way out of Palace and that the Toffees were his most likely destination.
That was never going to be a deal the Blues would contemplate in the January window, even if they were serious about signing him. Now almost as soon as the window has shut, the rumour mill is back up and running.
Today’s report in the Daily Mail says that Hodgson is once more gearing up for a fight to keep hold of his talisman forward when the summer transfer window opens.
According to this piece Hodgson expects that if Zaha does leave it will be to a club competing in the Champions League. This would obviously rule out a move to Everton unless the Toffees can break into that top four at the end of this season.
Getting into those Champions League places isn’t going to be easy. The Blues are in a six or seven club fight for Europe and although they have at least one game in hand on most of their rivals, it will still be a very tough task to get a top four finish.
If they did, then a move for the Ivory Coast attacker would make quite a lot of sense. He’s obviously an excellent player with the pace, creative ability and goal-scoring touch Everton really need more of.
Zaha is one of the best all-round forwards in the Premier League who at 28 is theoretically at his peak and can play in any position across the front line.
He would give the Toffees another quality option and competition in attack alongside Richarlison, James Rodriguez, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and perhaps also Josh King, if he proves an effective addition.
Of course I don’t know if the Blues top brass and in particular Carlo Ancelotti are really interested in Zaha. He’s probably a name that is mentioned when they discuss forwards who might strengthen the team.
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One major stumbling block to any deal might be the price Palace demand for him.
This of course prevented Everton signing him when the club were alledgedly keen to bring him to Goodison Park back in the summer of 2019.
According to press reports at the time, the south London club wanted an absurd fee of close to £100 million and rightly there was no way Everton were paying that sort of money.
Given the new financial circumstances of football, Palace certainly won’t be getting anything close to that figure if they sell him now.
Anyway this is all speculation and possibilities for now. But no doubt as we get closer to the summer these Zaha stories will continue to surface.