Wilfried Zaha could leave in January, reveals Federico Pastorello
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Italian agent Federico Pastorello has revealed that his client Wilfried Zaha could leave Premier League side Crystal Palace in January. The Ivory Coast international was heavily linked with a move away from Selhurst Park in the summer with reportedly Arsenal and Everton being the interested clubs.
Wilfried Zaha could exit Crystal Palace in the upcoming January transfer window, his agent Federico Pastorello has revealed. The 27-year-old winger was desperate to leave Palace in search of European football last summer and even handed an ultimatum to the club in the summer window. That included a transfer request with Everton and Arsenal both happy to pay the transfer fees in exchange of player’s services but in the end, no move materialised.
However, in an interview, the Italian agent has revealed that the Zaha could leave the English club very soon. Pastorello, who played a role in Romelu Lukaku's move from Manchester United, mentioned Zaha along with Napoli's Dries Mertens as two "good opportunities" in a winter window. The Italian expects to be busier than usual especially with Mertens too is out of contract next summer and linked to Inter. The Inter rumours have intensified after the mutiny between squad players and Aurelio De Laurentiis.
“If I think about a good opportunity in the market, it would be Mertens from Napoli. He is out of contract (in the summer). He is an amazing player. I think he will be soon the best scorer in the history of the club. He has proven himself in the Champions League because he scored in that competition and the national team. I think a player like that, out of contract is an amazing opportunity, even maybe for January,” said Pastorello to the Sky Sports.
"Every player really wants to play in the Premier League at least once. So I think he would be very happy to play in the Premier League. I know him very well tactically and technically and I think he can be a successful player for the Premier League. Another player I also think about is Wilfried Zaha. I think he really deserves a new challenge and a top club, because he is really a top player."
Frank Lampard's Chelsea have been heavily linked with a move over the last few months and with the Court of Arbitration of Sports reducing their transfer ban to one window and now they could reignite their interest in the Ivorian. Zaha for long has been admired at Stamford bridge and considering that Blues might part ways with Pedro and Willian in the upcoming future, Zaha would be the ideal replacement. That combined with other factors has seen Federico Pastorello reveal that the January window might be the perfect moment for the Ivorian.Â
"It is surprising me because I read about a possible move in the summer but he stayed again. But this season he is proving that he is very focused and concentrated. So think he could be another good opportunity in the January market. The January market can (usually) be really calm. As the number of transfers there is about one third as many than in the summer. But there are some very good and interesting opportunities for the clubs that sell, because maybe a club really needs that player and is ready to pay a little bit more because of emergency,” said the Italian agent.
