Wilfried Zaha reportedly remains undecided on his future as he comes to the end of his contract at Crystal Palace.
The Ivory Coast international, 30, will become a free agent when his contract with the Eagles expires on Friday night. The south London club have offered the winger a bumper new long-term deal worth £200,000-per-week, but he is yet to sign on the dotted lines.
According to The Daily Mail, Wilfried Zaha is exploring his realistic options ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. He has been offered fresh terms by Crystal Palace, and while he remains in daily discussion with his current club, the likelihood of the new contract being signed beyond the 30 June cut-off is highly unlikely, the report adds.
Zaha, 30, has fully recovered from the hamstring strain that ruled him out of the end of last season. The forward picked up muscular injuries that led him to miss crucial games towards the fag end of 2022/23 campaign. He managed just 27 league appearances, registering seven goals and two assists, as the south Londoners finished 11th in the table.
With Zaha set to become a free agent on Friday, Newcastle United must look to swoop in for the Palace star.
Under the new regime and Eddie Howe’s management, Newcastle United are going places. They finished fourth last season and subsequently qualified for the Champions League. The Magpies’ qualification to the Champions League has played a big role in signing Sandro Tonali from AC Milan. And they are in no mood of stopping, as Eddie Howe prepares his squad to compete in Europe next term.
With that being said, a move for Wilfried Zaha would make a lot of sense for Newcastle. Zaha is a Premier League-proven commodity, having registered 68 goals and 43 assists in 305 appearances. The wide forward’s experience should come in handy for the Magpies, while his blistering pace, trickery, dribbling and goal-scoring ability would bring a dynamic and potent threat to their attack if Howe manages to land his services on a free transfer.
The Ivorian has demonstrated his capacity to create chances for his teammates and score goals for the Eagles, and with better players at Newcastle, he could become more lethal in the final third of the pitch. As Zaha has previously stated his desire of playing in the Champions League or one that can realistically compete to qualify.
To that end, Newcastle—who will play in next season’s Champions League—could be a tempting destination for the 30-year-old. Given that his contract with Palace expires on June 30, a move to St James’ Park on a free transfer could suit both Zaha and Newcastle and provide him with an exciting new challenge at the peak of his powers.
