Tottenham will not return with a new bid for Wilfried Zaha, according to reports.
Reports emerged last month that Tottenham were lining up a £25m move for the Crystal Palace midfielder after his brilliant performances for the Eagles this season. There were also reports that Jurgen Klopp was interested in the Ivory Coast international, however those reports have since dried up.
Liverpool’s interest was supposedly only based on finding back-up for Mane, but given that Zaha could also miss a significant portion of the campaign due to his participation in the African Cup of Nations, it is no surprise that they are no longer being linked with the tricky winger.
According to the Guardian, Tottenham have also decided not to come back with a renewed offer for the winger as he is set to miss up to 6 weeks of the Premier League campaign on duty with the Ivory Coast national football team after flying out to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to join up with his international teammates.
Zaha had been due to meet up with the Ivory Coast squad earlier in the week but was given special dispensation to play against Swansea. International clearance complications had threatened his involvement in Sunday’s friendly against Sweden but he is now expected to make his debut for the Elephants, despite having been capped twice by England in friendly matches.
The Guardian state that Mauricio Pochettino remains an admirer of Zaha despite having two bids rejected last summer. Crystal Palace are unwilling to let one of their key players leave Selhurst Park in January and are thought to value the player in excess of £40m, especially since he has another three and a half years remaining on his contract.
Having left Manchester United on loan in the 2014-15 season after struggling to break into the first team, Zaha had an underwhelming year with Crystal Palace. Despite this, Palace made the move permanent in the winter transfer window in a deal believed to be around £3 million, rising to £6 million with add-ons.
The contract is speculated to include a buy-back clause and a sell-on clause, so any big money move for Zaha will see United reap the benefits as well.
Zaha’s second season with Palace after returning was much more productive, and he went on to win Crystal Palace’ player of the season award for the first time in his career. This season, Zaha looks set to win the award again if he continues his performances, and has been one of the most impressive players in the league so it is no surprise big clubs are taking notice of him once again.
Zaha has picked up 4 goals and 6 assists in 19 appearances in the league for the Eagles – one of which came as a substitute – and has also picked up 3 Man of the Match awards. If his performances continue to impress as they have, it seems very likely that Tottenham or Liverpool could renew their interest once again in the summer.
