Crystal Palace co-chairman Steve Parish has spoken of his joy about the re-signing of Wilfried Zaha on Transfer Deadline Day after a spell at Manchester United seen the player not used and left out of the squad on numerous occasions, eventually leading to loan spells at Cardiff City last season and back to Selhurst Park on loan in the first part of this season.
The 22-year-old signed a five-and-a-half year contract at the club yesterday (Monday) and is hoping to get Premier League experience behind him once again after an unsuccessful past couple of seasons. Speaking to us on Holmesdale Radio, Steve Parish said it had been something the club had been working and that it was a deal they felt fit to do:
“We’ve been working on it for quite a while, it’s not been the easiest one to do. It had lots of moving parts,” he said.
“I think that at the time it was at the beginning there was a few reasons (for signing him), it freed up a space for another loan but we think we can get him back on track. That’s what we think and it’s probably clear that things weren’t going to work out in Manchester, the manager there never even seen him so I think it suited both clubs.
“We came up with a plan with Manchester United where we could take him back and try and get United as much of their money back as possible in the long-term, we worked very well with them on a plan to do that. Hopefully, we can get him back on track and get him playing as a player that made Man Utd sign him in the first place; I think a year of not playing and getting that experience in the Premier League isn’t great for him so obviously now he is playing more regularly now which is good.”
Wilfried Zaha tweeted the confirmation that he was re-joining the club shortly after rumours of the completion throughout the early parts of the evening; in the tweet he spoke of his delight of coming back to Selhurst Park, saying: “Glad to be back permanently and appreciate all the messages #CPFC#home.”
Alan Pardew has always been an admirer of the player from his times as manager at Newcastle United with the club back in 2012 being linked with a move to the player before Manchester United submitted a bid and captured his signing. Steve Parish confirmed that the manager wants him at the club and has a lot of time for the young winger.
“I think everybody wants to know where their future is and obviously we have given him a five-and-a-half year contract so he has a lot of certainty in his life and we feel like it’s the right place for him and he feels that as well, so it’s good,” Parish continued saying.
“He’s got to perform, he knows that and he has got to fight for a place in the team, it has got a lot more competitive since the last time he was here. We’ve got a lot of good players here in those positions and the league is very tough.
“He knows he has his work cut out but the manager likes him, has a lot of time for him and Wilf’s a great kid so we’re really hopeful that he can quickly get back. We’ve signs of it this season that he needs to get back to the level that he was playing at when he helped us get promoted. We’re really infused about it, it’s great news.
“You don’t win games in the transfer window, I know fans probably think we do but you win games on the football pitch – that’s where we all need to perform.”
You can listen to the full interview that Steve Parish gave to the show by clicking on the player below.
