Zaha made 458 senior appearances after coming through the Palace academy - In recent years the winger had been linked with moves to elite European clubs
- He has agreed to join Turkish Super Lig side Galatasaray on a three-year deal
Crystal Palace have paid tribute to former winger Wilfried Zaha after the 30-year-old completed a move to Turkish Super Lig giants Galatasaray.
Zaha is a product of the Palace academy and made his debut in 2010 before going on to feature 458 times for the Eagles either side of a short spell with Manchester United.
The Ivory Coast international’s contract at the Selhurst Park expired at the end of June and he has subsequently been linked with moves to Saudi Arabia and PSG before settling on a three-year deal with Galatasaray.
Palace, who last month confirmed that veteran manager Roy Hodgson will continue as manager for the upcoming season, named the winger as the ‘best player to ever pull on the red and blue shirt’ in a statement on Tuesday.
While Hodgson and chairman Steve Parish eulogised a legend of the south London club. READ MORE
Arsenal ready to rival Chelsea for Crystal Palace midfielder Michael Olise?
Arsenal have reportedly identified Crystal Palace midfielder Michael Olise as a potential summer transfer target.
On the back of challenging for last season’s Premier League title, the Gunners have already made some stellar additions ahead of 2023-24.
Ajax defender Jurrien Timber, West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice and Chelsea forward Kai Havertz have all been signed by the North Londoners.
If reports are to be believed, Mikel Arteta will now have to see some of his squad members depart the Emirates Stadium in order to keep the club on a level footing with FFP.
Nevertheless, despite shelling out in excess of £200m on just three players, it would come as a surprise if the Spaniard was not able to make further acquisitions before the end of August.
According to 90 min, Arsenal are prepared to rival Chelsea in the race for Olise’s signature.
Over the weekend, a number of reports indicated that the Blues were ready to pay in excess of the player’s release clause in order to get a deal over the line.
While the France Under-21 international is said to have a £35m buy-out option in his contract, Chelsea are allegedly prepared to pay in the region of £39m, presumably in instalments.
Whether Palace will agree to such terms remains to be seen, particularly when they have also lost Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray on a free transfer and will require an alternative for their key man.However, the 21-year-old is reportedly tempted to link up with Mauricio Pochettino‘s project in West London and personal terms would not be an issue.
Olise has contributed four goals and 16 assists from 63 outings for the Eagles in the Premier League, while he still has three years left on his existing deal.
The likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain are also monitoring the situation, the latter possibly having substantial funds to spendDON in the near future if Kylian Mbappe departs Parc des Princes.
That said, Olise will not be available for action during the early weeks of the season due to suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty at the Under-21 European Championship.
