Wilfried Zaha to Tottenham? Here, WhoScored.com discuss the merits of the Palace winger.
Needless to say, things haven’t gone according to plan for Sam Allardyce on the back of his appointment as Crystal Palace manager. The Eagles are mired in the relegation zone and two points off safety, harbouring grave concerns they could drop into the Championship.
A shining light in what’s been a dreary season __have been the performances of Wilfried Zaha, who has a better WhoScored.com rating (7.41) than any other Palace player this term. His outings __have not gone unnoticed either, with Premier League rivals Tottenham still keen on the Ivory Coast international.
Spurs were twice rebuffed in their attempts to snare Zaha in the last two transfer windows, but would be confident of landing one of their top targets at the end of the season should Palace drop into the second tier of English football.
The north London outfit did what they could to strengthen the wide areas in the summer, bringing in Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Moussa Sissoko as manager Mauricio Pochettino sought to inject some pace on the flanks. The duo, though, have flattered to deceive.
Nkoudou has endured his fair share of injuries, with the 22-year-old registering just two competitive starts following his arrival from Marseille, though at his age there is time for the youngster to develop accordingly at the club. Sissoko, meanwhile, has very much failed to justify his hefty price tag on the back of his deadline day switch from Newcastle, registering just two assists across 16 Premier League appearances to return a WhoScored.com rating of just 6.50, one of the worst in the Spurs squad.
The pair were acquired to help stretch opponents in the final third, yet Nkoudou doesn’t look suited for the Premier League, while Sissoko is averaging 2.6 successful dribbles per 90 this season. That return pales in comparison to Zaha, whose return of 4.1 dribbles per 90 minutes ranks highly. Indeed, only Eden Hazard (110) and Adama Traore (100) have completed more dribbles than Zaha (87) in the Premier League this season to reinforce a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘dribbling’.
There have been concerns in the past, however, that Zaha is capable of nothing more than driving at opponents, at times lacking the final delivery to really establish himself in England’s top tier. That being said, six assists is a respectable return this term and is already his best in a Premier League campaign, and with four goals thrown in for good measure, he has been directly involved in 31.3 per cent of Palace’s 32 league goals this season. While they would be loath to losing their prized asset, relegation could spell the end of Zaha’s time at Selhurst Park.
Of course, there are rough edges to his game that need smoothing out, but Pochettino has a habit of improving young players and at 24 years of age, there is time for Zaha to build upon his current skill set. The Spurs boss craves a direct attacking threat out wide and with Clinton N’Jie, who was loaned to Marseille over the summer, Nkoudou and Sissoko all struggling to have the desired effect, it’s little wonder Pochettino is keen to improve on his options.
Zaha offers both youthful exuberance and Premier League experience in abundance.
For more stats on Wilfried Zaha, click here to view his WhoScored.com player page.