Arsenal bid £40m for lifelong Gooner Wilfried Zaha
Arsenal have opened the bidding at £40m for Crystal Palace’s brilliant Wilfried Zaha. Palace want “up to £80m” (BBC) for the 26-year-old. The Guardian says Palace want “around £100m”. The Sun says it’s £120m and not a penny less. Palace, says the Sun, are “guided by current market valuations”. Whether they’re operating in the market where Real Madrid paid £130m for Eden Hazard or the other market where Liverpool picked up Mo Salah is unclear. It looks a lot like guesswork.
To say that Arsenal fans would love to see Zaha in their colours is an understatement. Arsenal are a side in need of personality and verve. Zaha has both. He’s a hero-in-waiting.
Zaha’s brother, Judicael, told Sky Sports News: “Given all that Wilfried has given to Crystal Palace to help them remain a Premier League club, I hope Palace will be able to see their way to agreeing a deal with Arsenal that allows Wilfried to realise his dream of playing European football for the club he’s supported since childhood.”
Can it happen? The Sun says the offer is “embarrassing”. Such is the the state of football that £40m is presented as a shameful sum of money. It is “derisory”. It’s a fortune. The Sun also notes that Manchester United, who bought Zaha for £10m and sent him back to Palace for £6m, “have a 25 per cent sell-on clause”. The Sun fails to note that the clause is capped at £15m. A sum the paper might well deem to be pathetic and not worth getting out of bed for.
So much for the numbers.
Posted: 1st, July 2019 | In: Arsenal, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
