Everton are desperate to sign Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha and are currently preparing a £65 million bid to get the Ivory Coast international, as per The Independent. The report further states that Palace would end up accepting a bid of that value before the end of the transfer window. Zaha was pursued by Arsenal earlier in the summer, but the Gunners signed Nicolas Pepe and dropped their interest in the wing sensation.
Everton have now upped the ante on Crystal Palace as they seem to be willing to spend a lot of money to sign the former Manchester United winger, who had a brilliant 2018-19 season for the Eagles. Zaha re-signed with Crystal Palace in 2014, first on loan, which was then made permanent. The Ivorian had his best season for Palace last year when he scored 10 and assisted 10 more for the Eagles in all competitions.
The summer transfer window closes on 8th August for Premier League clubs and Everton will hope to get the deal over the line at the earliest before the start of the season on Saturday. Coincidentally, Everton travel to Selhurst Park to play Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season.
Can they challenge for the top 4 with him?
Everton have made several key signings yet again in the summer, spending close to €90 million on four signings (h/t Transfermarkt). The Toffees’ latest signing is Juventus striker Moise Kean, who moved to the Merseyside club for €27.5 million from Italian giants Juventus. They also signed defensive midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin as a possible replacement for Idrissa Gueye, who left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain, while signing Andre Gomes permanently from Barcelona.
The Toffees have a strong side for the 2019-20 season and have a good manager in Marco Silva who should look to ensure a top 6 finish. It would be a tough task for Everton to compete for a top 4 position as their squad does not have depth in certain key positions. The Toffees need to sign at least one more centre-back as they currently have only Yerry Mina and Michael Keane as two good options at the heart of the defence, but they have good strength in midfield and full-back areas.
The signing of Zaha would add depth and quality to the Everton lineup but the manager probably needs one more summer window before he can make a blueprint targeting a top 4 finish.
As of now, a top 6 finish is more achievable if they can push the likes of Chelsea, whose hands are tied this summer transfer window and a good start to the season looks imperative for the Toffees if they are to improve upon their last season exploits.