Fresh from the devastation of defeat in the Champions League final to Liverpool, Tottenham are unlikely to waste time this summer in the transfer window as they prepare a £70m move for Ivorian forward Wilfried Zaha, according to reports from The Guardian.
Spurs and Mauricio Pochettino enjoyed an exceptional campaign in 2018/19, yet again qualifying for the Champions League and making the final of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in the modern era; all without signing a single player over the last two transfer windows.
Reports of moves for James Maddison and Giovani Lo Celso have surfaced over the last week as Daniel Levy prepares to give Pochettino a sizeable war-chest to maintain the North Londoner’s re-emergence into firm domestic and European relevance.
And a move for Zaha, 26, who Spurs were reported to have bid for last summer, is a continuation of this new spending trend from Levy. The Spurs Chairman is aware that to keep Pochettino, the Lilywhites must spend, but equally building upon this momentum gives Spurs a chance to re-assert a grip on challenging for the Premier League title and reaching the latter stages of the Champions League in 2019/2020.
Zaha has matured considerably since his re-arrival at Selhurst Park 2015 following a £15m move to Manchester United, becoming the Eagles’ talisman and attracting interest from some of Europe’s elite teams.
The Ivorian reportedly told club officials of his desire to leave South London earlier this summer, and if Spurs were to bid in the region of £70m with the offer of Champions League football and the chance to work under a manager such as Pochettino, Palace would struggle to keep Zaha without the possibility of severely unsettling the player.
Palace under Roy Hodgson finished 12th in the Premier League in 2018/19, but as Zaha starts to reach the peak of his career at 26, the tricky forward has seemingly decided to pursue a new challenge; becoming one of Pochettino’s first summer signings at the price of £70m is surely a challenge that, if given the opportunity, Zaha would relish on the stages of domestic and Champions League football.
