Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Mark Wyatt

Jose Mourinho interested in taking Wilfried Zaha to Roma as Patrick Vieira stance made clear

AS Roma are reportedly weighing up a move for Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha.

The Ivorian international is entering the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park and has so far made no moves to extend his stay at his boyhood club, where he has made over 400 appearances and scored 83 goals.

Last season saw Zaha fire in a career-best 15 goals for Palace, where he struck up a strong relationship with new manager Patrick Vieira. The winger finished the campaign as the Eagles’ top goalscorer and scored his 50th Premier League goal in the process, making him the first Palace player to reach the milestone.

READ MORE: Patrick Vieria to be without key Crystal Palace midfielder for Premier League opener vs Arsenal

Zaha's long-term future has been a hot topic of discussion in years gone by, with the player previously being a target for Arsenal in the transfer window back in 2019, only to see Palace reject the Gunners' £40million bid. Now, with the possibility that Palace might lose Zaha on a free next summer, there are murmurings over whether the Croydon-born star could leave sooner.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Zaha's name has been brought up by AS Roma, whose manager Jose Mourinho is reportedly a big fan of the winger. Romano says that the inaugural Europa Conference League champions are yet to open any kind of formal discussions with Palace but that the option has been considered internally.

Vieira would not like to lose Zaha ahead of the new season, especially as he plays an important role both on and off the pitch for the club. On it, his goals and bursts of creativity in the final third have regularly helped pull Palace through games at crucial moments - only Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah (both seven) contributed more match-winning goals than Zaha (six) did last season.

Off the pitch, his position as an academy graduate and senior member of the dressing room make him an ideal role model for younger players. Among the current crop of young first-team forwards, Michael Olise, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Luke Plange and Malcolm Ebiowei have all named Zaha as somebody they look up to and hope to learn from.

"When you talk about Crystal Palace, you talk about Wilfried Zaha," said Vieira in May. "He's been at this club, and he's been doing fantastically well. And again, as a manager, of course, I would love to keep him, but he needs to want to be here.

"This season, I think he showed to everybody what this football club means to him because he's been performing well and scoring goals. I believe that he can still take himself to a different level and help the team to grow."

With Vieria's stance clear on the matter and the club likely to only seriously consider an offer for Zaha if the fee being offered is too good to refuse, it would seem that, for now, the Palace icon is staying put. Should Roma and Mourinho step up their interest, however, the club's resolve might well be tested.

READ NEXT:

* West Ham beat Crystal Palace to sign Swansea midfielder Flynn Downes on five-year contract

* Zaha stays, Butland exit - Who Crystal Palace should keep and sell in the summer transfer window

* Patrick Vieira brings second summer signing in as Sam Johnstone makes Crystal Palace transfer

* Malcolm Ebiowei shirt number revealed as new Crystal Palace ace makes Zaha, Ronaldo admission

* Crystal Palace suffer Joe Aribo transfer blow as Vieira eyes £20m Conor Gallagher replacement

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.