Sport
Could Zaha extend his contract at improving Palace?
The January transfer market is about to open for business and, for the second window in a row, Crystal Palace have no concerns over the contract or future of Wilfried Zaha. There is no chance of the club’s talisman departing next month and Patrick Vieira will not have to bat away questions about the possibility of Zaha moving on.
He might have to next summer, though. The Ivory Coast international is under contract at Selhurst Park until 2023, which means he will have a little over 12 months left on his deal when the current campaign finishes in May.
It could be a decisive moment. Zaha turns 30 next year and he is running out of time to secure the move to the higher level that he has desired for so long. But for the first time in years, Palace will be quietly confident of securing Zaha to a new contract for the rest of his top-flight career.
Almost ever since he returned to the club on a permanent basis in 2015, Zaha has been linked with a transfer. In 2016 he was courted by Tottenham, and then-Palace boss Alan Pardew revealed that the forward had asked him for permission to leave. Spurs continued to sniff around 12 months later, but the Eagles again stood firm.
Chelsea supposedly joined the race in 2018 but Palace succeeded in persuading Zaha to sign a new five-year deal. Yet by the summer of 2019, the Ivorian was keen to depart again. Arsenal and Everton both had sizable bids turned down. Zaha handed in a transfer request but Palace once again refused to budge.
For a long time it has seemed a matter of when, not if, Zaha would join another club. The 29-year-old no doubt retains ambitions of playing in the Champions League. Yet for several reasons, it is becoming easier to envisage Zaha remaining at Palace beyond the expiration of his current contract in 18 months’ time.
The first is his age. The forward is no longer in his mid-20s. He is one of the most experienced players in Vieira’s squad and has worn the captain’s armband on occasion this term. The likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham will be less attracted to a soon-to-be 30-year-old Zaha than they were three or four summers ago.
An equally significant factor concerns what is going on at Palace. Zaha seems to be enjoying his football this season. He has scored five goals and provided one assist in 16 league appearances. More important, though, is the style of play brought in by Vieira. Under Roy Hodgson, Palace routinely sat back in their own half and had 30 per cent of the possession. Zaha was forced to forage for scraps up top. At times he carried the attack on his own; if he did not sparkle, Palace did not win.
“We’re not just that counter-attack team anymore – we actually keep possession,” Zaha said last month. “Now, when we go forward, if we do counter-attack, it’s not just one or two players versus four defenders. It makes such a difference when there is Conor [Gallagher], there’s Christian [Benteke], or there’s Jordan [Ayew] – there are more players going up top with you.”
Zaha can still turn any game, as he did so brilliantly in the 3-0 victory over Tottenham in September. But on other occasions, he has been quiet. Gallagher has been Palace’s standout performer up to now. Ebere Eze and Michael Olise have featured only sporadically, but in time they will take more of the burden off Zaha. The Ivorian suddenly has several players on his wavelength to link up with in the final third.
By all accounts Zaha has embraced his status as one of the squad’s senior professionals. The likes of Eze, Olise and the 19-year-old Jesurun Rak-Sakyi will look up to him as someone who has excelled in the Premier League over a long period of time. Zaha can help each of them fulfil his potential.
“It’s enjoyable because you’re watching them grow,” he said of Palace’s talented young crop.
“When I look at them, it’s just like that used to be me. It’s just nice seeing them grow and just grow into the players that they are going to be.
“Some of them are ridiculously talented, and I just can’t wait to see the final product. I’m glad I can be around it.”
Both on and off the field, Palace are displaying more ambition than they did previously. Persuading Zaha to sign a new contract beyond 2023 might no longer be such a big ask.
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