As we enter the final week of the 2018 summer transfer period, the madness is only about to begin.
A shortened window and a World Cup to keep most everyone important busy for much of it is likely to have compressed plenty of action into the final few days, even more so than usual.
While many will (try to) claim that it’s simply too late to get any significant moves done, we know that’s not true just based on transfer deadline days of recent past.
Chelsea alone could and possibly should claim that with a few players, certainly Eden Hazard if any doubt is lingering there still. Eden is likely to stay above the fray fortunately.
But many others will push for what they want, be that a new contract or a new team. Take Wilfried Zaha over on the other side of London, who’s been tipped for bigger and better things for much of his career — minus when he actually tried that unsuccessfully with Manchester United five years ago.
Clearly, that was all a bit too soon, though to his credit, he didn’t fade away completely after returning back to Crystal Palace. Now, at 25, he’s ready to try again.
According to both the Mirror and the Mail, Zaha has rejected a new contract from Palace and is hoping to engineer a move away in this final week.
But he doesn’t want to go too far, ruling out any of the Manchester- or Liverpool-based clubs. A Chelsea move has been whispered about for some time, and so it’s unsurprisingly the Blues who are said to be favorites, and willing to offer “considerably more” than the £125k per week that Zaha just turned down.
But with four years left on the contract he signed just 14 months ago, Palace aren’t in a hurry to sell him and will only consider doing so if they’re offered “an irresistibly huge offer”.
The Mirror also claim that Zaha is willing to go at least as far as “considering” an official transfer request, and it sounds like he would have to take that step if he is actually serious about leaving.
That still wouldn’t guarantee success of course, especially as Chelsea are full-up on attacking wide players at the moment with Hazard, Willian, Pedro, and Hudson-Odoi. Willian could yet push for a move as well, though recent narrative shifts suggest otherwise.
Stay tuned.