Crystal Palace secured their fifth signing of the summer last week by re-acquiring fans’ favourite Wilfried Zaha on loan from Man United. The deal seems to have already galvanised a squad whose chances of remaining in the Premier League looked bleak after the shock departure of Tony Pulis in pre-season. Zaha made an instant impact last weekend, coming on as a substitute to score a crucial goal in the 3-3 draw with Newcastle, and he hopes to build on his strong start in the coming weeks:
“I had to make the move here because I wasn’t getting minutes on the pitch, so coming back here will definitely push my career forward. Since I came back, I’ve been comfortable and everyone has shown me love around the place. All I need to do is get settled again and get playing. It’s always great to play and I feel at home doing that here with players I’ve played with before. I haven’t really played too much, so coming off the bench I don’t mind because I’m getting my fitness back. But I’m definitely looking forward to starting a few games.”
Another old face is replacement manager Neil Warnock, who has backed the 21-year-old despite enduring an unsuccessful spell at Manchester United:
“Maybe at that top level they wonder if they can rely on him, but he just needs to be given that bit of freedom. I’ve heard one or two say his attitude is not so good, but for me, it’s fantastic. He was so keen [to come here].”
THE HISTORY
A product of the Palace youth system, Zaha became integral to their push for promotion to the Premier League in spite of his young age. After graduating from the academy to the first team in 2010 aged just 17, he enjoyed three successful seasons with the Eagles, racking up 110 appearances and 12 goals.
By the pre-season of 2010/11, Zaha had already established himself as a starter but scored just one goal that year. He won Palace’s Young Player of the Year, though, and caught fire the following campaign, impressing in the League Cup giant-killing of Manchester United and winning The Football League’s Young Player of the Year award, having played 48 times, scoring nine goals and providing five assists.
In January 2013, Manchester United agreed to pay £10 million for the winger on the basis that he would return immediately to Palace for the remainder of the season. He scored twice in the Championship play-off semi-final and won the penalty that secured Palace’s spot in the Premier League in the final.
Sadly his opportunities at United were limited and, when given chances, he was unimpressive. After just two appearances at Old Trafford, Zaha was loaned to Cardiff City by David Moyes last season, where he made ten appearances but failed to score.
Zaha was born in the Ivory Coast but moved to South London aged four and opted to play for England. He has played at every International level, including 13 caps and a goal for the England U21s, and debuted for the senior side in a friendly against Sweden in 2012 as an 83rd-minute substitute.
THE PROSPECTS
Zaha’s weekend goal seemed to be a result of the free reign he was given by Warnock after climbing off the bench at St James’ Park – he could have scored a hat trick in his brief 28-minute cameo. While he was officially played in the centre, he terrorised the Toon defence from all angles, managing seven touches and four shots within the penalty area, three of which were on target.
Jason Puncheon was initially preferred on the right but given his personal history with Warnock, his goal and assist in two appearances may be overlooked to give Zaha a starting role on his favoured right side. Another possibility would see Yannick Bolasie dropped and either Puncheon or Zaha fielded on the left – the Frenchman is yet to register a shot on target in three games and had the most attempts in the league without scoring last year. Zaha is also versatile enough to play through the middle, though, and with Marouane Chamakh potentially sidelined for up to a month, he could tuck in behind a lone forward if Warnock opts for a lone forward system.
Yet to register a win, Palace are hardly a horse to back heavily but after netting three times in Warnock’s first match at the helm, there’s a feeling that they may go on the offensive more often this season. The arrival of central midfielder James McArthur from Wigan for a club record £7 million is set to boost their creativity in the centre of the park and while we may not look upon their defence in the same regard as last season under Tony Pulis, there attacking assets may well be worth contemplating.
At 5.4 in FPL, Zaha is cheaper than Puncheon (6.0) and, like Warnock, has plenty to prove in his second stint at Selhurst Park – upcoming home clashes with Burnley and Leicester in the next three look particularly prosperous and certainly offer the youngster the chance to carry on from his impressive St James’ Park showing.
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