Wilfried Zaha requests transfer from Crystal Palace: Arsenal expected to place second bid | OneFootball

Wilfried Zaha has asked Crystal Palace to let him leave, after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations this week.

Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol, who broke the news of Arsenal’s initial £40m bid for Zaha, reports that the player has now informed his club that he wants to leave. He adds that the Gunners are expected to return with for the winger in the coming days.

Zaha is reportedly Unai Emery’s number one target for the summer, ever since the 26-year-old was so impressive against Arsenal back in April.

Solhekol continues that Zaha has no issue with Palace or Roy Hodgson, he just wants to prove himself at a big club on the big stages, and his preference is to join Arsenal.

Nonetheless, it’s still pretty difficult to be optimistic about this deal going through.

With Arsenal’s budget being too low to match Palace’s £80m valuation to begin with, and that budget taking further hits from the potential signings of Kieran Tierney and William Saliba, it’s hard to see where the funds will come from.

The Saliba deal will reportedly be paid in instalments, so it won’t represent a huge hit this summer, and Arsenal are pushing for the same sort of payment structure with Tierney.

Maybe if the Gunners could get Palace to agree to a £60m deal where a fair portion of the money is paid next summer, it might be possible. Right now, it’s still seeming pretty unlikely.