According to the latest reports, the Premier League duo of Arsenal and Chelsea are in the hunt to sign Crystal Palace ace Wilfried Zaha in the upcoming summer transfer window. The 26-year-old superstar is hungry to play football in the Champions League and this means that whichever club qualifies for the elite competition will have the advantage of signing Zaha.
Since Maurizio Sarri took charge of the Chelsea football club back in the summer of 2018, he has done quite an impressive job by replacing his fellow Italian compatriot Antonio Conte at the helm. The former Napoli master tactician brought in an attacking and effective brand of football into the Premier League which received plenty of praise and plaudits from fans and pundits across the globe. Sarri led Chelsea to the finals of the League Cup but unfortunately lost out to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in penalty shootouts. The Blues are also in the semi-finals of the Europa League and look like serious contenders to go on and win the continental tournament. However, Chelsea face an uphill battle to finish inside the top four at the end of the season.
Whether the West London club manage to qualify for the Champions League or not, it will be a massive task to keep hold of Belgian superstar Eden Hazard at Stamford Bridge. His links to Real Madrid are never-ending and as Hazard has not yet signed a contract extension, he could leave the club. Therefore Chelsea is looking out for a replacement and have identified Wilfried Zaha as the man who could succeed the 28-year-old.
Zaha has had a wonderful season with Crystal Palace and has been one of the most improved players over the past few seasons in England’s top flight. The Eagles have also accepted that Zaha has outgrown the club and are looking to offload him in the summer and are prepared to listen to offers from top clubs on the European continent. Palace will only be looking for bids just above £80 million for their star man who is catching plenty of attraction from clubs in Europe this summer’s transfer window. Zaha also scored his 9th goal of the season against Arsenal in a 3-2 win over the Gunners on Sunday and Unai Emery was highly impressed with the star winger.
Reports claim that Emery is also a keen admirer of Zaha and would like to bring him to North London in the summer. Arsenal are in dire need of a player who can produce some creativity in the attacking third and also add some width to their starting eleven. Zaha also has the experience of playing in the Premier League but now wants to take his attributes to the next level and play Champions League football.
Wilfried Zaha –
“I'm too ambitious. I have to aim to play at the very highest level, to win trophies.
I feel like there is so much more I have to offer. I have to experience the Champions League. I just need the opportunity”
Chelsea had an approach rejected last summer. pic.twitter.com/MEoAqrNXgb
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) April 20, 2019
Both Chelsea and Arsenal are facing a tough battle to finish inside the top four this season and it could well decide who has the advantage in the race to sign Zaha. Chelsea may have a transfer ban imposed on them while Arsenal are working on a budget, so an interesting few months wait.
