Crystal Palace will only sell star winger for £80m saying former Eagles star Clinton Morrison
Wilfried Zaha will only leave Crystal Palace if a bidding team stumps up £80 million, according to Eagles legend Clinton Morrison.
A host of Europe’s top clubs are circling around the 26-year-old, reportedly subject to a £60 million bid from Napoli and to rumoured interest from Premier League giants Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton.
Frontman Morrison, who scored 112 goals across two spells at Selhurst Park, believes both the Palace hierarchy and the player himself will hold firm.
“If they do lose Zaha it’s going to be a very long season and we could struggle massively,” said Morrison.
“I think the chairman is clever and I don’t think he’ll let him go unless it’s a silly offer.
“Unless he gets £80 million then I think he’ll still be at the club, but wide positions and centre forwards are key as they win you football matches.
“In my heart of hearts, I believe he will stay. I don’t think we as a football club need to sell him at the moment, because we’ve already lost one of our prized assets in Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
“We don’t need to sell him. Hopefully he does stay and he can have another great season for us.”
The centre forward position remains a vexed question with Christian Benteke, Alexander Sorloth, Connor Wickham and Jordan Ayew scoring just five goals in 65 combined appearances last term.
Ayew, who made his loan deal permanent earlier this summer, and goalkeeper Stephen Henderson are the club’s only signings with a week remaining in the transfer window.
Player stats comparison: Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha – both summer targets for Arsenal
Player stats comparison: Arsenal bought Nicolas Pepe after being unable to sign Wilfried Zaha
Morrison believes reinforcements in his own position are essential if Palace are to avoid being dragged into a relegation scrap.
“Most Palace fans would say we need to strengthen all over the pitch, but I’d say probably in the wide areas and definitely in particular up front,” he said.
“We could do with a couple of centre forwards because we need to score goals in the Premier League. If you don’t score goals, in theory you get relegated.
“That’s why goalscorers get all the money, because they put the ball in the net.
“We need a lot of competition for places, so I think centre-forwards is a must and a few more wide players to compete with Andros Townsend and Zaha.”