Wilfried Zaha to Chelsea transfer: Blues ‘consider’ late swoop, Patrick Viera’s recent comments

Chelsea are reportedly eyeing a possible late move for Crystal Palace ace Wilfried Zaha.

The winger is out of contract at Selhurst Park at the end of this season and his long-term future is up in the air.

Zaha, 29, was left out of the Eagles’ last match against Manchester City over the weekend through injury.

According to a report by the Daily Mail, Chelsea will ‘consider’ a swoop for him before the end of the transfer window.

What has Viera said?

Patrick Viera’s former club Arsenal have also been linked with his key attacker this summer too.

When asked about Zaha’s situation last week, the Palace boss said, as per the Evening Standard:

Last year when I came over there was a lot of speculation about him, and I think you’re always going to have this conversation in the window because of the quality of player he is, so we just have to deal with it.

“We started the season really well, he wanted to do really well and I see him every day in training. When the team is playing well obviously he is one of the talented players who is always going to shine.

“We are talking about how we want to play the game and how he can improve his goalscoring and do well for the squad and for the team. He is an important player on and off the field.

“I think you can see the love that the fans show him every week. He came through the system, he loves being at this football club, and there is no reason why that should change.”

Zaha rose up through the youth ranks with the South London club and went on to score 18 goals in 143 games as a youngster to earn a move to Manchester United.

However, the last time he left Palace it didn’t work out for him and he spent just two years at Old Trafford, part of which was on loan at Cardiff City, before heading back home.

What has Zaha said?

Zaha has been tight-lipped about his future over recent times, mainly due to the fact he is still under contract with his current club.

Speaking about Arsenal’s apparent interest in him last year in a podcast with the Greatest Game (as per Football London) he said:

“I had a conversation with the manager. (Unai) Emery was just like, ‘We don’t really need to go through much’.

“He said he’d seen me play, he knows I can change games at any time and stuff like that. He was like, ‘Yeah we’d love to have you’ and I was just like, ‘Yeah I’d love to come’.”

The move to the Emirates Stadium didn’t end up happening in the end and now a potential switch to Chelsea is a possibility before 1st September.