Manchester United are reportedly scouring the prospect of orchestrating a reunion between Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.
In what is a rather intriguing headline from The Sun in their report, Manchester United are in pole position to bring Wilfried Zaha back to Old Trafford. The Crystal Palace ace has grown into a full-fledged Ivory Coast international and is being eyed by his former side for a reunion with his boss from his Cardiff City loan days – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
While The Sun headlines it as though United are favourites to sign Zaha in ‘a cheap summer deal’, the crux of the story is that Manchester United have a ‘25% of the profit from sale’ clause embedded in his contract. This means that the winger, who is currently rated at £70 million by Crystal Palace, will only cost United £54 million due to the clause, having sold him to the Eagles for just £6 million.
The Mirror on the other hand, have reported that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eyeing a move for Zaha as an alternative to Jadon Sancho, who is likely to cost Manchester United threefold in terms of millions in transfer fees. The Mirror’s story is more believable, considering Solskjaer was impressed with Zaha’s determination to succeed during his Cardiff days.
After being sidelined by new Manchester United manager David Moyes, Wilfried Zaha was sent on loan to relegation-threatened Cardiff City, where Solskjaer was the manager. The former Manchester United forward was taken in by the on-loan winger’s willingness to stay the extra session after everyone had left and put in extra work to jumpstart his career once again after being stagnated at Old Trafford.
While Cardiff were ultimately relegated and Solskjaer departed, Zaha has now established himself as a worthy talent and one that could come in handy for the now permanent Manchester United manager, should he choose not to go for Sancho in the summer.
There will be interest from other clubs as well. Tottenham and Chelsea had previously shown interest in Zaha and could renew it in the summer. Zaha could also be enticed with the prospect of competing for trophies and playing European football on a regular basis, should United and the other clubs come knocking at Palace’s door.
The Mirror have labelled the rumour as a ‘shock move’ planned by Manchester United and it would certainly be the case, considering how United treated Zaha the first time around.
But, for footballing fans who are suckers for magical storylines and for Manchester United fans who saw Paul Pogba return in 2016, it would be a case of another boy coming back home, this time ready to take on the world.