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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Nizaar Kinsella

Crystal Palace make record Wilfried Zaha contract offer in last-ditch move to stop summer exit

Crystal Palace have offered Wilfried Zaha a new four-year contract worth £200,000-a-week, in a final attempt to keep him at Selhurst Park.

Zaha is out of contract at the end of the season and there has been a growing feeling that Palace could lose the 30-year-old on a free transfer in the summer.

But Palace do not want to lose Zaha, who currently earns £130,000-a-week, and have offered him a deal that would make him the highest-paid player in their history.

Zaha has been reluctant to renew his contract due to his ambition of playing for a club capable of qualifying for the Champions League.

He is expected to reject a £9m-a-year offer from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad to continue pursuing his European dream.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have previously shown an interest in the former Manchester United winger but most of his options are currently outside of England.

AC Milan, Roma and Marseille all want to exploit the contract dispute to tempt Zaha overseas. Palace manager Roy Hodgson has indicated that the Ivory Coast forward will soon return from a groin injury and play his part in the final few matches of the season.

Palace, meanwhile, continue to search for a long-term managerial successor to Patrick Vieira, with Feyenoord’s Arne Slot and Lille’s Paulo Fonseca among those tipped to be interviewed.

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