Crystal Palace co-chairman Steve Parish has placed a £20 million price-tag on forward Wilfried Zaha, with English Premier League quartet Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly interested in the England U-21 international, Sky Sports understands.
Zaha, 19, is one of the most highly-rated youngsters in English football at the moment, and a £20 million price-tag certainly suggests exactly that.
The Eagles, 6-1-3, are just two points out of the automatic promotion slots, having tallied 19 points from their first 10 league fixtures.
As a result, Palace — who last appeared in England’s top flight in 2004-05 — are reluctant to sell their 19-year-old starlet, and rightfully so.
“He is an extraordinary talent. I said at the start of the season that keeping hold of Wilf would be like spending a lot of money on a transfer,” insisted the club’s co-chairman Steve Parish.
“Other sides can fly their kites but it would take £20 million before we even got interested.
“He has got the lot, provided he keeps his feet on the ground and continues working so hard on his game – then it will all come.”
Should he stay or should he go?
If Crystal Palace are in the running for a top-2 finish in the Championship in December/January, Zaha would have little motive to leave Selhurst Park during the January transfer window.
However, if Palace play themselves out of promotion consideration, they may decide to cash in on their prized asset, which is, obviously, completely understandable.
Milan deny Balotelli talk
AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has denied reports linking Mario Balotelli with a return to the San Siro, revealing that the Manchester City striker is “unreachable” due to his potential transfer fee and current weekly wages, Sky Sports reports.
“Balotelli is a player I like a lot, but some players are unreachable for Italian clubs. They cost too much and earn too much for us,” Galliani told Rai Sport.
Balotelli has been linked with a return to the San Siro on many occasions since leaving the Rossoneri’s bitter rivals Internazionale for Manchester City.
The Italy international striker cost City €22 million in August 2010, four years after he joined the Italian giants for a total transfer fee of €290,000.
In addition to being one of the most intriguing footballers on the planet, both on and off the pitch, Balotelli is also undeniably a world-class striker, in every sense of the word.
The former Inter Milan forward has netted five goals in 16 appearances for club and country in 2012-13, but surprisingly none have come in the Premier League, despite the Italian appearing in six league matches for City.
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