As the transfer window looms, two Premier League clubs are setting their sights into Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha. Rival clubs Chelsea and Arsenal are currently in a race to sign Zaha, the emerging star from Crystal Palace.
Sports insiders have noted that Arsenal has been in negotiations with Crystal Palace since last month in an effort to acquire Zaha. However, things did not come to a fruitful end as the two clubs cannot reach an agreement in terms of valuation of the Ivory Coast international. Crystal Palace valuation of Zaha sits at £80 million, a steep price for Arsenal.
According to reports, Arsenal have already submitted two bids for Zaha and both were rejected, with Crystal Palace threatening to sever negotiations if no agreement is to be reached soon. Aside from Arsenal, Everton has reportedly entered the race for Zaha. However, sports analysts have noted that Zaha has little to no chance of moving to Goodison Park.
As Arsenal fail to strike a deal with Crystal Palace, the club's rival, Chelsea, is reportedly inching to make a snatch Zaha. While this might be quite difficult for Chelsea to pull, considering their two-window transfer ban, it is not completely impossible.
Chelsea has brought this issue to the Court of Arbitration for Sport asking the body to lift the ban. However, some sports analysts have said that the club will most likely be met with rejection and will be forced to wait until the summer of 2020 for new signings.
Despite this ban, Chelsea is still planning to make major signings once the ban is lifted. With the recent exit of Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata, the Blues have cleared around £140 million. Chelsea can use these massive resources in order to acquire new talents once the ban is lifted.
As for Zaha's place in Chelsea, Pedro and Willian are expected to leave the club next summer. This means that Zaha has an opening spot on the wings. Another player that puts Chelsea in the advantage is Michy Batshuayi whom Crystal Palace has been reportedly interested in. Should the two clubs reach into an agreement, all they have to do is wait for the transfer ban to be lifted and they can each get what they want.
As for Arsenal, the club will most likely not meet Crystal Palace's valuation of Zaha. For Arsenal to complete this deal, they should convince Zaha to go on strike and force Crystal Palace to lower the valuation.
