Chelsea and Arsenal target Zaha set for Crystal Palace contract talks
Karan Tejwani
- 24 Oct 2022 09:00 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal and Chelsea are set to suffer a blow in their hopes of signing Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha next summer as his club want to open contract talks with him.
Zaha has long been linked with an exit from Selhurst Park over the years but a move never materialized and he has remained at the London club for a long time.
The 29-year-old has had the ambition of playing Champions League football but has never had that chance in his career, despite links to several clubs playing in the top level of European football.
READ: Crystal Palace in scramble to tie down Arsenal target Zaha
Now, Palace are determined to not lose him on a free transfer and will open discussions to extend his stay at the club for the next few years.
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Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira confirmed his club’s desire to keep Zaha at Selhurst Park for the long run, serving as a blow to the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.
Speaking to the media, Vieira said: "Wilfried knows what the club think about him, and we know what he thinks about the club.
READ: How Wilfried Zaha compares to Hakim Ziyech
"There will be discussions taking place [over a new contract] but for myself and for the club what is important is for him to play at this level and to be consistent and to help those young players around him to grow and we will see what will happen.”
🦅 Wilfried Zaha has now scored as many Premier League goals as Bruno Fernandes and Kai Havertz combined in 2022 (14) pic.twitter.com/mwEg6Za6g6
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 19, 2022
In the past, Arsenal wanted to sign him, especially in 2019, but they opted to make a club-record move for winger Nicolas Pepe instead.
Over the summer, it was reported that Chelsea and Roma were interested in a possible deal for the Ivory Coast international, but no concrete move was made.
Zaha’s deal at Crystal Palace expires at the end of the season and if they can’t get him to agree to a new contract, the club will lose him on a free in the summer of next year.
