On Tuesday afternoon I covered the press speculation that had ignited surrounding Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.
The speculation was thin on the ground in fairness and to save overly repeating myself here I’ll simply link.
Everton Interested In Ivory Coast International Attacker
This particular rumour was covered well by the likes of the Daily Mail and the Mirror and I do stand by my initial comment that it would certainly be a massive statement from the club if it had any legs in it, but it seemed unlikely that we would spend potentially £70million on a single player when the club have made a point of letting it be known that we were looking to trim the group down and shrink wages given the number of players we have on our books.
The more you think about it, the more it’s just not going to happen. Not because we couldn’t afford to pull it off and nor because we won’t show the necessary ambition. Zaha struggled to adjust to life at Old Trafford when he made the move to Manchester United given he’s a London lad. He didn’t fare much better during his loan spell at Cardiff City – it seems the north doesn’t suit him.
That would be strike one for us if he has concerns about moving away from London again and more than anything that would be the strike that scuppered our interest. Okay it’s not like we live in Russia and the journey is that long but it’s long enough even if he has the money and it would involve significant time away from his close circle. I don’t see him putting himself through that again even if it’s logistically possible.
If the press speculation is to be believed he has simply options at his disposal – stay at Palace as he doesn’t seem to have announced a desire to leave or chase down the Tottenham option.
However much I’d like it to, it’s not going to happen.