Wilfried Zaha needs a loan move to fulfil potential

Highly-rated Manchester United winger Wilfried Zaha could be make a loan move in January

Highly-rated youngster Wilfried Zaha has endured a frustrating time at Manchester United since his £15million summer arrival from Crystal Palace.

The young winger had previously impressed with Palace and helped the Eagles to promotion to the Premier League last season from the Championship.

However, his playing time has been restricted at Old Trafford and Zaha has failed to even make a single Premier League appearance this season. In fact, his only domestic appearance this season came in the Community Shield.

Willing

United boss David Moyes now seems to be willing to allow the young winger to move out on loan in January.

The Scot told the Daily Mirror: “I’ve said if I couldn’t get Wilf a game, I would look at it in January. But I really thought when he came in he needed to be here for six months to see how we work.

“It’s not because Wilf has not done enough, it’s because we have got big, big competition.”

Competition

It seems hard to believe that Wilfried Zaha has not even made a substitute appearance, considering how highly-rated he is and the fact that his competition is not exactly thriving. Moyes claims that United have big competition in his position, yet wingers Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and Nani cannot claim to have had a consistent start to the season.

United have not had the best starts to the season. United have given another youngster Adnan Januzaj a chance this season and he has impressed so far. Zaha must be wondering what he has to do to get his chance.

Potential

For quite a while Wilfried Zaha has been rated as a promising young player with a lot of potential. Last season he started to find some consistency in his performance. Zaha’s form in the first half of last season persuaded United to snap him up in January and allow him to remain with Palace until the end of the campaign.

The decision proved a very valuable one for Palace, as Zaha helped the Eagles to the promised land of the Premier League. The Eagles have struggled in the top-flight this season and they have definitely missed Zaha’s skills.

Wasted

Unfortunately this seems to be a familiar story in recent years, a talented young English player warming the bench at a big club, getting little to no playing time for their respective club. This has become a major problem for the England national team.

Although born in Ivory Coast, Zaha has lived in England since he was four. Zaha has represented England at both under-21 and senior level. However his chances of winning anymore caps are not great if he is not playing games for United.

Loan

The Daily Mirror are claiming that old-club Cristal Palace, Everton, West Ham and Sunderland are all interested in taking Zaha on-loan in January. A loan move to a fellow Premier League club would be a wise move for the young winger.

A temporary move will allow Zaha to gain some experience at Premier League level and become a better player. Sitting around not playing at Manchester United is not helping the youngster’s development.

Playing top-flight football regularly would see Zaha become accustomed to the level of play and what he has to do in the top-flight. He would definitely add something to all the aforementioned teams, as all four look to reach their respective aims.

Everton would probably prove the most attractive option for Zaha, apart from maybe a return to former-club Palace. The Toffee’s are currently in good form and are looking good under affable boss Roberto Martinez. The only catch maybe that he would not be a regular starter at Goodison, with the likes of Kevin Mirallas and Steven Pienaar currently occupying the roles on the flanks.

A move to one of the other teams mentioned could see the youngster pitched into the heat of a relegation battle. Zaha is a confident lad so I doubt that would worry him and maybe the rough and tumble of a relegation battle could do him good.

Future

Wilfried Zaha has a bright future in the game, but not playing at Manchester United is not going to help him become a top class player. However a loan move may help him move closer to becoming the player he wants to be and fulfil his potential.

Should Wilfried Zaha leave Manchester United on loan in January?