Crystal Palace want £80m for Chelsea-target Wilfried Zaha and not a penny less — report

Chelsea may or may not want Wilfried Zaha — the rumor mill’s certainly convinced that we do — but if we do want him, we’re more than likely going to have to pay over the odds to get him.

How far over? The Mail claim that Crystal Palace will “hold firm” on their £80m asking price and have “no intention” of lowering it. That’s double the price that Arsenal were reportedly willing to pay last summer, though does match Everton’s supposed part-exchange offer, which was also rejected.

While Chelsea can easily afford that much, the question is whether it’s worth paying Eden Hazard money for the 27-year-old former Manchester United flop. Sure, Zaha was much younger and much less prepared for the big time than he may be now, but he’s also much older. Then again, the appeal of him being a “finished” product may be what’s most appealing to a team full of budding young stars.

With Jadon Sancho scoring in his seventh straight match for Borussia Dortmund last night, but also possibly suffering a significant injury in the 3-3 draw against RB Leipzig, Chelsea’s options for January reinforcements in attack may have truly become limited to just Zaha.

So, £80m? Whatever it takes?