The Crystal Palace boss, Ian Holloway, is adamant that if there is any deal to be done in January with Zaha moving to a Premiership club, that there needs to be a clause in the contract where he has to stay at the club and remain there on loan until the end of the season.

Wilifried Zaha thinking about his future

Zaha has been linked with a number of top clubs, especially Manchester United, with Sir Alex Ferguson said to be very keen on the boy and not wanting a repeat of the Gareth Bale situation who was snagged up right before his eyes and has now turned into one of the most exciting wide players in the game today.

Zaha who is only 20 years old, already has an England Cap, albeit it as a sub and a sub par performance has recently returned back to form and is showing that his class is sustainable and will definitely be worth the investment if and when a top club eventually pays the price. He did suffer a dip in form when all the hype was swaying in from the four winds, but has since been praised by the Palace boss in the way he has handled all the speculation and stress that comes with being such a high-profile player.

“Wilfried Zaha is wanted by some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, “And THAT, in the football silly season that everyone else calls January, is the problem. The need for confidentiality makes it impossible to reveal who is interested in Wilfried and who has made a bid.

“But the constant buzz of speculation is difficult to cope with. It is a great tribute to Wilf himself that he has been able to hang on to his sanity.

Ian Holloway quietly confident

“He had a little dip in form when the transfer talk started to get louder last month, but he has since shown that class is permanent.

“I felt it necessary to have a chat with Wilfried this week about what might happen and what definitely won’t be happening. Even if we do reach an agreement with a club, it would have to include a clause that Zaha stays put for the rest of the season.”

So as you can see Ian Holloway is resigned to losing the talented forward, but where will he end up? I first reported this a number of months ago, and I still believe he will end up at Manchester United. Let’s see how it all unravels. If he does end up there, it will be exciting to see how the youngster develops under the stewardship of one of the greats, Sir Alex Ferguson.