Despite missing out on a move to Arsenal, Wilfried Zaha is eager to leave Crystal Palace and reportedly wants a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal are close to signing Nicolas Pepe from Lille on a club record transfer fee of €80million according to BBC who also claim that Pepe will sign a five-year contract with the Gunners.
MORE: Two reasons Arsenal opted for Nicolas Pepe transfer over Wilfried Zaha
Arsenal were initially keen on signing Crystal Palace’s Zaha, who scored ten goals and provided as many assists for Roy Hodgson’s side last season. According to Sky Sports, Arsenal had a £40m bid for Zaha rejected as Palace valued him at £80m.
The latest from the Independent states that the Eagles wanted £55m up front for Zaha while Lille are allowing Arsenal to pay the transfer fee for Pepe in instalments. Also, Pepe’s wage demands were less compared to Zaha’s, making the deal look far better value for money.
The report from the Independent also claims that Zaha is now looking for a move to Arsenal’s arch rivals Tottenham instead. Spurs are said to be aware of Zaha’s interest but are not seemingly not keen on signing him at this moment. The Champions League runners-up are currently interested in Juventus forward Paulo Dybala and according to Turin newspaper La Stampa, they also made a €50m bid for the Argentine but Juventus rejected it.
Through his performances for Crystal Palace, Zaha has shown that he has the potential to do well in the Premier League and Tottenham could be a very suitable destination for him.
However, Mauricio Pochettino’s side already have the likes of Son Heung-min, Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Christian Eriksen in their attack, and unless there is a situation where Eriksen leaves and Spurs cannot sign Dybala, it seems highly unlikely that the Lilywhites will make a move for the Ivorian forward.