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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
A lot is made of what the most important thing in football is nowadays.
Winning trophies? Getting one over on your rivals?
From a personal viewpoint, seeing a player become one with the club and embrace it as his own is the most important.
Those who hold Crystal Palace close to them will tell you that Wilfried Zaha is that player.
The shy, skinny boy who joined the academy at the age of 12 having arrived in south London from Abidjan eight years prior grew up to become a club legend, a hero if you will.
From twisting his way in and out of arch-rivals Brighton’s backline and finding the net in the first ever game at their new stadium, getting a hug and a kiss on the cheek from then-manager Dougie Freedman as a result, to netting a double on the same ground to help get the club back to the Premier League, Zaha has vividly lived every different emotional altitude there is to experience along with the fans.
Over 320 appearances for the club across a nine-year stay has cemented this mercurial talent into the heart of even the hardest of fans, but a tough decision needs to be on the horizon.
This romantic love affair took a bitter turn in the summer when Zaha handed in a transfer request in order to fulfil his personal ambitions as a footballer, but he is still loved by the Selhurst Park faithful – you could see that by the reception he received in the season opener against Everton.
However, whilst Palace refused his request and kept him against his will, the Eagles must bite the bullet soon and grant Zaha his wish for the good of both parties following some worrying comments.
Freedman, the man who placed that smacker on Zaha’s cheek at the Amex Stadium, is now the sporting director at Selhurst Park and the man responsible for getting the best deal from those parties interested in the Ivorian.
Intriguingly, Freedman recently outlined why the club didn’t spend the bulk of the £50m received from the sale of Aaron Wan-Bissaka this summer, highlighting the need to be ‘responsible’ with the cash.
He goes on to say that under past management the club haven’t been responsible with their finances and it has left them in some difficult positions – these are the reasons he gave for not spending much of that £50m.
But this is where things must be put into perspective.
Roy Hodgson has a fairly old squad at his disposal right now, with only a handful of players under the age of 28 – Jeffrey Schlupp, Jairo Riedewald, Zaha, Max Meyer and 27-year-old Jordan Ayew.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that the squad needs freshening up.
Even forgetting the players’ ages, it is strikingly evident that serious investment is needed in this Palace side.
The attacking options, barring the recent and unexpected surge from Jordan Ayew, for example, leave plenty to be desired. Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham have hit just four Premier League goals between them since the start of the 2017/18 season, whereas the backline that started in the defeat against Sheffield United last month – consisting of Patrick van Aanholt, Scott Dann, Martin Kelly and Joel Ward – is closer to Championship than top-flight standard.
The current state of the squad calls for drastic measures, including a decision that will be an extremely tough one for the club to make – cashing in on Zaha, and using the money to bolster key areas of the depleted squad.
Why would it be such a tough decision to make, you ask? You may argue that Zaha isn’t as in love with the club as those at Palace are with him, what with him handing in a transfer request on the eve of the deadline.
But this is a player who has quite literally grown up at Palace. A player who grew up in a little house just a stones throw away from Selhurst Park. A player who used to wonder what that glowing orb down the road was on the occasional evening – he would later find out it was the floodlights on a matchday.
Zaha is more than just a player.
Steve Parish, the club chairman, says he feels ‘intertwined’ with Zaha, having been on a magical journey alongside the academy graduate since buying the club in 2010 – it was Zaha who scored the first ever goal under Parish’s ownership.
Freedman was also the man to invite a homesick, depressed Zaha – by his own admission – over to his house on Christmas Day, where the winger who was struggling at Manchester United spent the day with the Scot, played air hockey with his children and then watched the Red Devils’ game against Hull the next day, a match which he was not in the squad for.
Freedman also recalled the day he travelled the short distance to the Zaha household for the down-to-earth youngster to sign his first ever contract – the former Bolton manager said that Zaha didn’t even ask to look at it because he had that much trust in the club and Freedman himself.
Zaha is a prodigal son at Palace, in every sense of the word.
When the day comes that he is sold, it will be an extremely tough one for everyone involved, but it is a decision that must sadly be taken for the good of the club as well as the future of the playing staff.
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