Crystal Palace: Wilfried Zaha could move to Real Madrid or Barcelona?
Wilfried Zaha is still yet to realize his potential at Crystal Palace but Alan Pardew believes that if the winger does do that, then he could soon be on his way to Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Wilfried Zaha had his head turned by a move to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. So there’ll be no surprise if comments by Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew on Thursday put him in a spin.
Pardew believes Zaha, if he realizes his full potential, could be a target for Real Madrid or Barcelona in the future. It’s a bold claim and one which is likely not said without being well thought out beforehand.
”He’s done great for me but I think there’s improvement in him,” Pardew said, according to The Sun.
”I do think he’s got some improvements to make to be a top player. I think we’re a good platform for him to do that in the Premier League. I have tried to say to him I want him to be a massive success here,” Pardew continued.
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”If Spurs blew us out of the water or Man City offered £50 million and it was Champions League football, OK, it’s because you’re the finished product. That is what Wilf’s ambition should be, but he needs to address his goals and assists.”
Pardew, speaking ahead of Palace’s game against Middlesbrough on Saturday, seemed to either be trying to boost his player’s confidence or give him a fresh target to aim for. And he certainly gave Zaha a target to shoot for.
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”If a club came in with, say, £50 milllion-£60 milion – let’s say a Man City , Barcelona or Real Madrid, and he’s got ten goals and nine assists – as his manager at Crystal Palace I can’t really stand in his way.
”I don’t think our fans would either. He knows he isn’t there yet and he has no problem seeing that. I have told him that. Potentially, he could be.”
Potentially, he could be? First of all, one day, he was. He was at Manchester United and just didn’t quite cut it at Old Trafford. Zaha was younger back then, though, so it’s fair to give him a pass on that one. But Real Madrid or Barcelona?
It seems farfetched but it could be good management by Pardew. The Palace boss knows he has to get Zaha’s head back in the game somehow. The transfer speculation in the summer distracted Zaha from his still ongoing development at Crystal Palace.
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By saying what he did, Pardew is sending a message to say that you have work to do, but look where you could get to if you get your head down and work. Pardew is essentially dangling a carrot in front of Zaha. Admittedly, a carrot he’s unlikely to ever catch, but still…
Zaha still shows great promise when he plays well for Palace, but the inconsistency remains, too. The 23-year-old needs to play well and be a threat over the course of a season. Become the got-to guy for Palace. Right now, he’s just one of a few. He hasn’t separated himself at all.
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Pardew is right about the goals and assists as well. Zaha has scored six Premier League goals in the last two seasons at Palace. Last season the winger netted two times in 34 appearances. Just one assist was notched, with two being laid on the year before. It’s nowhere near enough.
There are full backs with better goals and assists records than that. Aleksandar Kolarov, for example, scored three goals and served up three assists last season for Manchester City. Kolarov is in a better team of course, but Zaha is a winger. Supposedly, one of his team’s biggest attacking threats.
Production is key for any attacker and Zaha just isn’t productive enough. Not even for a team like Palace, never mind Spurs or anybody above that level. Zaha is fortunate to still be at Crystal Palace right now.
He needs a place to grow and develop and a place like Tottenham wouldn’t have been the right environment to grow in. Like Pardew said, that’s where you go when you’ve finished developing. When you’re the finished product. Zaha has shown no signs of being that yet.
One day, the timing will be better for a move to a club like Spurs. Or, if you believe Pardew, to Real Madrid or Barcelona. But either way, that’s definitely not this year.
This article originally appeared on 
