Crystal Palace had a productive transfer deadline day, but one of the main additions was a permanent deal for Wilfried Zaha.
He has finally come home after his year in the wilderness at Manchester United. He has been on loan since the summer and the arrival of Alan Pardew has transformed back to his explosive best.
Will Manchester United regret letting Zaha go? It is a big question; one that I feel will get answered in time.
Given United’s array of attacking talent, it was going to be hard for Zaha to force his way into contention. Being on the peripheral doesn’t make any player happy – we Palace fans only have to look at Barry Bannan. The Scottish international was not getting much game time, so he had to do what is best for his career and that was a move north to Bolton. It was the same for Zaha; he has to do what’s right for him.
The winger can have a massive say in the future of this club. He could potentially fire us in unchartered territory, Europe is the dream. Joe Ledley alluded to that in his recent #LedleyLive.
What do we get from Zaha?
Many fans already know what type of player Zaha is; he is full of tricks and skills. He has that unpredictable nature which we have grown accustomed to. It’s an unpredictability that has got the Palace fans off their seats on countless occasions.
It would have been nice to see Zaha play more at United, he would have benefited from playing alongside top class players. You can see he has matured from his first spell at Palace. Before he tried to over complicate things, but now that composure is creeping into his game, which will only benefit us.
The same can be said for our other predictable winger Yannick Bolasie one thing they both need to improve is their end product. We have seen evidence of improvement, especially Bolasie’s. If it can get to a consistent level teams are going to hate coming up against both Zaha and the DR Congo international.
Zaha has been creating a lot of chances in the last couple of weeks, but his play has not been merited with goals. Adding that goal threat is the next step for young Zaha, something that Pardew should be able to get out of him.
The 22-year-old is a work in progress, his experience at Old Trafford will stand him in good stead, we have a better player, one that will be instrumental in taking this club to new heights.
