Crystal Palace have punched above their weight again this season and a huge amount of credit must go to the manager. Palace will restart the season in 11th place in the Premier League and they are well-placed to finish the season in the top half of the table, above many clubs with much bigger budgets and stronger squads on paper.
It was no secret that Wilfried Zaha wanted to leave last summer, but the move didn’t happen and despite his initial disappointment he managed to get his head right and focus on doing his best for Palace.
The good news for Palace fans is that they don’t have to rely on him as much as they used to. Players like Jordan Ayew have been in exceptional form this season.
Nobody wants to see Zaha leave this summer, but Palace are now better equipped to deal with his departure if it does happen.
Zaha has changed agents and he recently said he wanted to win trophies. Palace held firm on their £80m valuation last summer.
There were bids from Arsenal and Everton but they weren’t big enough to tempt Palace. There is bound to be a correction in the transfer market this summer because of the financial after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic, but if Zaha leaves – and it is still only an if – it will only be on Palace’s terms.
