Arsenal could be made to pay at least £100 million to buy Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace, according to the Daily Mail. The Gunners hope to improve their attacking options with Zaha a key summer target.
Wilfried Zaha Will Cost Arsenal £100 Million
Palace Up Pricetag As Arsenal Interest Continues
The London side lost star player Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United earlier this week. However, Palace chiefs are keen to hold on to talented winger Zaha.
Zaha has expressed his desire to continue playing Premier League football away from Selhurst Park but Palace have a different plan and remain keen to retain the winger’s services.
In doing so, Palace have set a staggering £100 million price tag, knowing that Arsenal will struggle to find the funds to afford such an expensive deal.
Arsenal, who missed out on qualification for the Champions League, are forced to operate with a smaller budget this season. They are, though, prepared to offload players in order to make funds available.
Alternative Options To Zaha
With Palace setting an unrealistic valuation, Arsenal may be forced to look elsewhere for a new attacking option.
In doing so, Arsenal boss Unai Emery has reportedly identified Keita Balde as an alternative to Zaha.
The 24-year-old has been valued between £25 and £28 million and has been watched at this summer’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Last season Balde was dispatched to Inter Milan. The 24-year-old was sent away from Monaco due to limited first-team chances; however, Balde impressed while out-on-loan as he netted five goals in 24 Serie A appearances.
The forward joined Monaco from Lazio in 2017 prior to spending last term on-loan at Inter.
Across a three-club career, Balde has scored 44 goals and assisted 47 in 200 combined games. As a result, Balde is regarded as a talismanic frontman in both Italy and France.
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