Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly suffered failure in their pursuit of Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.
According to a report in The Sun, Wilfried Zaha has snubbed the opportunity to play for either Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur by putting pen to paper on a five-year contract extension with Crystal Palace.
Zaha progressed through the ranks at Crystal Palace before making his senior debut for the South Londoners in 2010. After spending three fruitful seasons with the club, the player sealed a dream move to Manchester United in 2013.
However, the move turned out to be anything but a dream for Zaha, who could manage just four appearances for the Red Devils before making his way back to Selhurst Park in 2015. The Ivory Coast international has found a renewed lease of life in his second spell at Palace, and has turned into the team’s talisman.
I can now reveal I have put pen to paper to extend my time at @CPFC for 5 more years.
Thanks for all your support.
??⚡️??#GodIsGreat #COYP pic.twitter.com/rQW0sHQ71P— Wilfried Zaha (@wilfriedzaha) May 26, 2017
The last two seasons have been the most productive for Zaha, with the player establishing himself as a mainstay in attack for Palace, while bagging 12 goals and 18 assists in the process.
He has also been adjudged as the club’s Player of the Season in the last two campaigns, which shows just how influential he has been. Such stellar showings have earned him the attention of some of the top clubs in the Premier League once again.
Arsenal and Tottenham were reported to be the front-runners in pursuit of Zaha, though, with both the North London clubs eager to make reinforcements in attack.
At Arsenal, a mass exodus is reportedly on the cards with players like Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lucas Perez all linked with a summer exit from the Emirates. Arsene Wenger is, thus, keen to bring in a top quality attacking player in the summer.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are long-time admirers of Zaha’s talents and they tried signing the player last summer as well before a move failed to materialise. Mauricio Pochettino currently has the likes of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-Min going strong for him in attack.
But, the Tottenham boss has little to choose from beyond the trio, with Moussa Sissoko and Erik Lamela being unimpressive. Hence, Pochettino had set his sights on Zaha once again with a view to launching the offensive for him in the summer transfer window.
However, Tottenham as well as Arsenal will now face disappointment in their pursuit of Zaha, with the winger choosing to commit his future to Palace instead. The player has signed a five-year contract extension at Selhurst Park that will see him pocket £110,000 a week.
Upon signing the deal Zaha said, “Palace is in my heart and I don’t think the story is over. I spoke with Steve [Parish] and I think I still have more to give this club. The supporters have been amazing and I want us to do more than just stay in the league next year.”
So, Zaha is seemingly happy at Palace and is not looking to make a cross London switch to either Arsenal or Tottenham, meaning the two rival clubs will have to set their sights elsewhere for an attacking reinforcement in the summer.
