The Daily Mail has reported that Arsenal are keeping tabs on Wilfred Zaha’s situation as he holds off holding talks with Crystal Palace over a new deal.
Zaha’s current deal with Palace expires in 2023 and the report suggests that Arsenal could be eyeing a move. The Ivory Coast international has been the subject of transfer speculation in recent times and both, Arsenal and Tottenham are said to be long-term admirers of the 29-year-old.
The former Manchester United player will soon turn 30 and with him becoming a free agent next summer, it could be his last chance at securing a big move in his career.
Now, it is believed that Zaha may be trying to force a move away from Selhurst Park as he’s holding out on holding talks over a new deal. The forward is valued at £34m by Transfermarkt but the likes of Arsenal would hope to secure a cut-price deal if they made a move in January as they know they could snap him up for nothing next summer.
Speaking about Zaha’s future, David Ornstein on The Five Podcast said,
“Palace would dearly love to sign Zaha to sign him to a new contract I’m sure. But with free agency looming and he’s never had that big move that many anticipated.”
”Of course he went to Manchester United and it didn’t work out but since then we’ve seen Arsenal linked with him, we’ve seen Tottenham at various points, and we’ve seen Chelsea last summer,”
”That move hasn’t happened. Palace value him so highly as they know without him there’s a good chance they’d be in a relegation scrap. So they’ve always set a very high asking price. ”
‘There’ll be a number of clubs who will look at him and wonder if they can get him for nothing in the summer of 2023. There’ll be conversations I’m sure. Many in the game feel he’ll hold out and go as a free-agent and play in the Champions League.”