da leao： Carlton Palmer has revealed his admiration of Crystal Palace playmaker Wilfried Zaha and is surprised he is still at Selhurst Park.
da doce： Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast correspondent Tom Ward, the former England international can’t believe a top six club didn’t sign the winger in the summer.
Zaha’s Palace future has been shrouded by transfer speculation for quite some time whilst he submitted a transfer request in an attempt to engineer a move away from Selhurst Park before the start of the season.
However, a move failed to materialise, after Roy Hodgson’s side rejected approaches from Premier League rivals Arsenal and Everton.
But Palmer believes that something isn’t quite right behind the scenes.
“I’m a big fan of him, I’m a big fan of Zaha. I am surprised that none of the other top clubs have had a bat at him. £50 million is a lot of money, but as I say, I’m surprised that none of the other top clubs have had a bat at him.
“There must be something that they know or something that they’re aware of that they don’t want to go near.
“But he’s been Crystal Palace’s talisman for years and years and years and he’s a talented, talented player, that’s for sure.”
It goes without saying that the 28-year-old is the club’s best player as Palace have lost 15 out of the last 17 Premier League games he has missed for various reasons.
In eight appearances in the Premier League so far this season, Zaha has scored five goals and supplied two assists, whilst he is averaging 2.3 shots, 1.6 key passes and 1.4 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.
However, whilst there’s no questions about Zaha’s ability, his attitude has been been a bit of a problem in the past, which is perhaps where the problem lies.
Valued at £45m via Transfermarkt, the highly-rated Ivory Coast international started his career at his boyhood club, before he left for Premier League giants Manchester United in 2013, until he returned to Selhurst Park under acrimonious circumstances just two years later after a frustrating stint at Old Trafford.
But this has done little to dissuade potential suitors, with both Arsenal and Everton credited with an interest in the versatile forward in the summer, amid links abroad to European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and Monaco.
If and when that day does come, there’s no doubt his inevitable departure will be a huge loss for the Eagles.
AND in other news, Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish should reward Jairo Riedewald with a new contract…