manager Patrick Vieira has revealed that talks are taking place to extend star player Wilfried Zaha’s contract.
Zaha is enjoying perhaps the best form of his career this season, having scored five goals in nine games so far, including the winner in Palace’s 2-1 win over Wolves on Tuesday night.
The 29-year-old winger has long been regarded as one of the best Premier League players outside of the ‘big six’ club and has consistently been linked with a move to a top team.
After an ill-fated year at nearly a decade ago, Arsenal attempted to sign the Ivory Coast international in 2019 but never came close to Palace’s £80million valuation of the talisman.
And over the summer, Zaha’s name frequently appeared in the rumour mill, with the Gunners, Chelsea and Roma all reportedly interested in his services, especially since his contract expires in 2023.
It has been widely-thought that Zaha, who has long-harboured ambitions of playing in Europe, would leave Selhurst Park on a free at the end of the season, but now Vieira has suggested that that may not be the case after all.
‘Wilfried knows what the club think about him, and we know what he thinks about the club,’ the Eagles boss said in his post-match press conference.
‘There will be discussions taking place [over a new contract] but for myself and for the club what is important is for him to play at this level and to be consistent and to help those young players around him to grow and we will see what will happen.
‘If Wilfried Zaha has a good day, the team will have a good day. He’s an important player on and off the field, he’s got the experience and today he was really good in possession and out of possession he worked really hard.’
Zaha is one of the form players in the Premier League right now having netted 14 goals in 2022, a tally bettered only by Tottenham duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.
He’ll hope to keep up the good work in Palace’s next game against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.
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