What's new

Wilfried Zaha

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,389
Those who think Zaha is all pace and nothing else can't have watched him properly this season. He has a lot of tricks in his bag and is great at working space for a cross or shot in tight areas just as much as having the pace and power to counter. Also got a fair bit of practice at centre forward too.

He outgrew Palace in all honesty this season. Seems he might have realised that. He matured and became their talisman, carrying them very often.

Even Pep rates him highly. Name dropped him in that post season MNF with Gary Neville.

I'd prefer Martial but Zaha would be a huge signing, and one 100% ready to go. Zaha would thrive alongside better quality players IMHO.


If he's competing with Son and Dele for a starting place I can see him turning his nose up. He allegedly threw his toys out of the pram with the wages we were offering last season so I doubt he undervalues himself. We won't pay 70m for Pulisic so don't think we'll get near what Palace would want.
 

SpartanSpur

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2011
12,552
43,063
If he's competing with Son and Dele for a starting place I can see him turning his nose up. He allegedly threw his toys out of the pram with the wages we were offering last season so I doubt he undervalues himself. We won't pay 70m for Pulisic so don't think we'll get near what Palace would want.

Palace have put that price on him because they want to keep him. If he refuses the new contract and pushes for a move it might start to get more realistic. Look how the price for Mahrez has crept down.

He was happy being the big fish last season, and worried about being burned at a big club again but seems something has changed and he wants another crack.

Plus with Son out for the first few weeks he'd have a great opportunity to stake his claim early on.

Maybe he'll sign on again, but that article yesterday suggests he's had his head turned.
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,232
57,389
Palace have put that price on him because they want to keep him. If he refuses the new contract and pushes for a move it might start to get more realistic. Look how the price for Mahrez has crept down.

He was happy being the big fish last season, and worried about being burned at a big club again but seems something has changed and he wants another crack.

Plus with Son out for the first few weeks he'd have a great opportunity to stake his claim early on.

Maybe he'll sign on again, but that article yesterday suggests he's had his head turned.


Didn't he sign a new contract on 100k last season? Seems a bit like the Sessegnon situation where the player hands all of the aces back to the club.
 

SpartanSpur

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2011
12,552
43,063
Didn't he sign a new contract on 100k last season? Seems a bit like the Sessegnon situation where the player hands all of the aces back to the club.

Yeah it could cause an issue.

Depends how cash strapped palace are too though. If their most saleable asset wants out they might have to do it. To raise the same amount they'd probably need to sell half of their squad!
 

DannyNZ

Well-Known Member
Jul 3, 2017
1,740
4,725
Palaces best player by a country mile and the primary reason they remain in the premier league. Palace will not only require a fat fee but they’ll need time to replace him. A protracted deal for them would be disasterous
 

yanno

Well-Known Member
Aug 1, 2003
5,857
2,877
I strongly suspect our A list for an AM is: Martial, Pulisic or Zaha. They're all very good players, with different strengths.

Martial can also play up top and is the best finisher of the three, gliding over the turf like Terry Henry used to. I think he's a confidence player, who probably needs to feel wanted and integral to the team. I suspect he'll have PTSD from his Mourinho days, but if Poch can help him over that, he could be a 20-25 goal a season player.

Zaha has improved immeasurably since his manure days, and is arguably the player ready to have the biggest impact next season because he is properly PL-hardened. He's not just pace, he's trickier than some members think. That ability to create a yard of space or win a penalty with a bit of skill in the opposing box could be crucial in tight games against bus parkers. But there's nothing in his career to suggest he'll be a prolific goalscorer. He's a creator and disruptor.

Pulisic is the youngest by a long way, and obviously has never played in the PL, so he'd take time to adapt. His attitude sounds great, and I'm sure Poch would regard him as a "project" to be moulded. I think he'd have the least impact next season of our three A-listers, but he has top class potential, not just as a wide AM but also potentially as a central AM. His record also suggests he's a goalscorer.

I believe Plea is on the B list. I spoke with someone who watches a shed load of French football, who described Plea as "a
very, very poor man's Aubamayang before Dortmund. best played as a wide forward in 433 type systems, but can play central too.
As a back up option goes, he'd be somewhere between OK/meh. But could kick on playing with better players I guess."

So, I'd pass on Plea and pay the big bucks for whichever of our A list options we can secure.
 

Primativ

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2017
3,229
12,486
Zaha would be an excellent signing and one player who could certainly come in and instantly improve our first 11.

He may not have fans salivating or be an exciting enough big name but he would certainly be effective.

He knows the PL inside out.
No settling in or adapting required.
Pace and trickery in abundance.
Talisman for his current club so knows how to cope with expectation and pressure on him.

I'm struggling to think of other players who are available who could improve our attacking quartet (Martial aside) but Zaha certainly would.
 

ajspurs

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2007
22,987
31,167
I still think if Zaha was doing what he was doing in another league and we were linked with him people would be more so massively excited.

He may not have played against packed defences, but he played against teams who were probably primarily set up to neutralise him and still managed to produce game after game. Would be a good signing.
 

Mornstar

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2005
4,897
1,589
If Wilfrid Zaha was an American sponsored by Nike or plying his trade in some foreign league, all the school kids on here would be getting all giddy with excitement.

I personally think he'd be an amazing signing and is exactly what we are missing
 

tiger666

Large Member
Jan 4, 2005
27,978
82,214
If Wilfrid Zaha was an American sponsored by Nike or plying his trade in some foreign league, all the school kids on here would be getting all giddy with excitement.

I personally think he'd be an amazing signing and is exactly what we are missing

What does he have that we're missing?
 

dagraham

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2005
19,115
46,080
If we go from Martial to Pulisic to Zaha - we are essentially the opposite of brave.

Zaha has pace. A lot of pace. Pace does not help much against teams that are camped in their own box. We don't play many matches where we have lacked pace.

We lack quickness and movement in tight spaces. But, we rarely look back at a match, and think: "We needed more pace in attack"

I don't see a lot of quick ball movement from Zaha. I see a player who can beat you down the flank, but not one who can unlock a packed defense on a regular basis.

If CP are looking for £60-70M, and we pass up Martial and Pulisic for similar amounts, we will regret it.

I absolutely agree we need quicker movement and passing from midfield to unlock defensive teams, but I do also feel we lack pace and direct play.

Since Walker left and Rose has been injured we have lacked the ability to stretch teams and despite being a possession based side there are plenty of times during games ( particularly against better teams ) we are too slow to break. And yes, a big part of this is players like Dier and Dembele slow the game down, but it’s also down to the fact that Dele, Eriksen and Kane are not the quickest with the ball ( particularly Dele).

Also, you talk about Martial, but one of his main attributes is his pace and trickery on the ball.
 

tiger666

Large Member
Jan 4, 2005
27,978
82,214
I absolutely agree we need quicker movement and passing from midfield to unlock defensive teams, but I do also feel we lack pace and direct play.

Since Walker left and Rose has been injured we have lacked the ability to stretch teams and despite being a possession based side there are plenty of times during games ( particularly against better teams ) we are too slow to break. And yes, a big part of this is players like Dier and Dembele slow the game down, but it’s also down to the fact that Dele, Eriksen and Kane are not the quickest with the ball ( particularly Dele).

Also, you talk about Martial, but one of his main attributes is his pace and trickery on the ball.

Isn't that why we got Lucas?
 

dagraham

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2005
19,115
46,080
Isn't that why we got Lucas?

Yeah that it is fair point and I though Lucas was very much underused last season. Poch still seems very keen on Zaha though, so he obviously doesn’t think it’s enough.
 

KaNoUtE9

Well-Known Member
Jan 11, 2004
440
618
I'm not surprised that he's turned down the new offer. If I was in his shoes and was on 100k a week with 4 years remaining on my contract, an extra £20k a week wouldn't be anywhere near enough to add an extra year or 2 onto my contract. Especially with how much he is worth to Palace, I don't see any real value to him in signing a new contract at all right now.
 

johnbowel

Active Member
Jan 21, 2015
123
250
:cry: He has absolutely no finesse or intelligence. He’s never in control of where the ball goes in his dribbling and his passing and shooting are really unrefined and often wild. In addition, he runs like a duck. I watched a lot of him from u20 (edit: u21 maybe) level (where Redmond was a much more effective player, zaha was just a bag of ‘tricks’ that would get you from one random point on the pitch to another) as I used to follow Carroll and a bit of Pritchard I think, at that level. I know I’ll get flayed for this but think he’s the kind of player that impresses people who think Ronaldo>>>>Messi. He slows the game down a lot too, and prefers doing ten step overs then running the ball away from the goal to just dropping a shoulder and progressing play.
 

ajspurs

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2007
22,987
31,167
What does he have that we're missing?

I think it's a valid argument, as to whether Zaha adds something we don't already have or not. You put Son in that Palace team instead of Zaha for instance and it's certainly not farfetched to suggest that he would have done as well as Zaha or better.

In my opinion Zaha probably does a better job of forcing himself into games with his ability and maybe provides more of a fear factor for the opposition. I'm trying to imagine myself as an opposing fan and I'd probably be a bit more concerned with having to face Kane, Eriksen and Zaha than Kane, Eriken and Son, but I also wouldn't begrudge anyone who thought the opposite as Son can be fantastic when he's in form.
 
Top