Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson. (Getty Images)
Sky Sports has revealed that Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund are more than willing to break their club transfer record for Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha. The Bundesliga giants lost Christian Pulisic to Chelsea over the January window and while the USA international was loaned back to Dortmund, club officials believe that Zaha is a direct replacement.
The 26-year-old has struggled to replicate his form this season, producing only seven goals so far but that hasn’t fazed Borussia Dortmund manager Lucian Favre. However, for the Palace it will mean losing a superstar, they cannot lose and possibly won’t be able to replace.
Forget about the place former Manchester United star holds in the heart of Crystal Palace fans, forget about his ability on the pitch but take a look at his stats.
This season, with not one but two strikers struggling and Christian Benteke injured, manager Roy Hodgson has used Wilfried Zaha as a centre-forward alongside Andros Townsend. That hasn’t worked but yet the 26-year-old has managed to produce seven goals, scoring three goals alone and now with Benteke’s return, Zaha looks like he’s returning to his best.
That’s exactly what he showed against Liverpool, as he hounded and harassed James Milner who was deputising as a right-back.
However, that’s what he has always shown when needed with 9 goals and five assists last season and 7 goals and 11 assists two seasons ago. This is Wilfried Zaha in his prime and while £50million will be a decent fee for the Ivorian, few players around the world will join Crystal Palace for that fee.
In all likelihood, the Eagles could lose the 26-year-old. If nothing else, he is ambitious and like many others, itching to play in the Champions League. Europe’s premier competition will allow Zaha to test himself at the highest levels and see if he can make it among the upper echelon of football stars. And in Borussia Dortmund, with Lucian Favre, the 26-year-old will have the chance to do just that.
Losing Christian Pulisic will be a massive blow, but replacing him with Wilfried Zaha is ingenious and at a rather affordable fee given their outgoings over the last few years. However, for Crystal Palace, it will be arguably the biggest loss they will ever face and moving on, will be the hardest thing to do especially given the state of the transfer market at the moment.
