John Textor piles more misery on Oliver Glasner as Crystal Palace miss out on Champions League player

Crystal Palace's all-time top scorer in the Premier League, Wilfried Zaha, is on the verge of joining Lyon, LondonWorld has learned. The forward was strongly linked with a return to Selhurst Park just a season after he turned down an offer to become the club’s highest-ever paid player, with wages of £200k a week.

Instead, Zaha joined Galatasaray, where he played in the Champions League last season and even scored at Old Trafford. Earlier this summer, LondonWorld reported that the Ivory Coast international was looking to return to the Premier League, and Palace were hoping to find a deal structure that would bring him back to Selhurst Park.

Palace chairman Steve Parish even confirmed his desire to bring Zaha back to Selhurst during an interview on talkSPORT. He said: “I’d have Wilf Zaha back in a heartbeat. He's part of our club, part of our history, as I've said countless times.”

However, as things stand, it looks like Lyon will secure his services, with John Textor, who has a stake in both clubs, reportedly behind the move to take Zaha to the French league. This has been a challenging summer for the Eagles, having lost both Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen to Bayern Munich and Fulham, respectively.

There is also still a chance that Marc Guehi could leave the club before the transfer window shuts, although Newcastle would have to pay around £70 million to pry him away from South London.

The move to Lyon, however, has been complicated by the injury to Riad Chaid, which means Palace will need a contingency plan if they are to lose another key player so close to the transfer deadline.

Palace chairman Steve Parish could certainly use an experienced player like Zaha, and LondonWorld sources indicate that he has given his blessing for Zaha's return if the club can find the finances to make the deal happen.

Losing key players and not being able to replace them with similar quality has already affected the team's performance, with defeats to Brentford and West Ham in the league so far this season.