Like that same toy everyone used to fight over as a child, Wilfried Zaha has to be one of the most talked-about players to move clubs in recent years.
Although that did eventually happen, having been signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in the winter before he left Manchester United, the Ivorian left-winger made the move to Old Trafford from Crystal Palace, only to move back to South London just a year later.
I find it amazing that no other top club not just in England, but Europe, has decided to snap up Zaha. He first caught my eyes during the League Cup semi-final against Cardiff City back in 2012, when we were all anxiously awaiting who our opponents would be at Wembley.
Zaha is just 27, is still considered to be a serious attacking threat by opposing teams and is capable of scoring a hatful of goals. There is no reason why he could not do the job for us.
I’m not the only one saying this. Pundit Tony Cascarino also believes that we should be looking at the Ivory Coast international’s services.
He told The Times that he would put the pressure on the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane for a first-team spot. Although he doubts that we would be willing to accept the asking price from Roy Hodgson’s side for someone we would probably consider as a backup player, and he’s right.
Nevertheless, Zaha would dramatically improve our frontline and would provide another dimension in the attack that could prove useful if we are struggling to break teams down during matches.
The £39.6m-rated attacker has scored 58 goals and provided 70 assists from 363 appearances (as per TransferMarkt), and surely has to go down as one of the Eagles’ greatest players.
I strongly believe that if Salah and Mane went through a period of the season without firing, Zaha could have the opportunity to take either of their positions in the team. Something that hasn’t happened since both players joined in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The man would truly shake up the team and keep our star players on their toes, decreasing the likelihood of any complacency creeping in and giving our Premier League title more strength.
