From scoring two vital goals to send Crystal Palace to Wembley in 2013 to making his first appearance for England and signing for Manchester United, the rise of Wilfried Zaha has been eventual to say the least. Having made his debut In March 2010 for his boyhood club Crystal Palace, the winger has enjoyed success in all six of his seasons at the club.<\/p>\n
Over the last couple of years, Zaha has thrived working under the likes of Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce and after signing a new five-year deal in May 2017, his fairy-tale story from Croydon schoolboy to international star is set to continue in SE25 as the club embark on their fifth straight season in the Premier League.<\/p>\n
When Wilfred Zaha made his Crystal Palace debut as an 18-year-old winger against Cardiff City in March 2010, the club was known for producing talented youngsters. He was set to follow in the footsteps of Victor Moses and Nathaniel Clyne and Zaha, and signed a two-year deal in April of that year.<\/p>\n
Following the club’s near liquidation that summer which forced the sale of several high-profile players, Zaha went from hot prospect to first-team in a matter of months. He\u00a0started the club\u2019s first game of the 2010-11 season alongside fellow academy prospects Kieron Cadogan, Nathaniel Clyne and Kieran Djilali, scoring his only goal of the season in\u00a0a 3-2 home win over Leicester. He went on to make 44 appearances in all competitions that season.<\/p>\n
The following season, Zaha really kicked off, making 48 appearances, scoring nine goals and contributing a further five assists. The winger played a vital role in the side’s League Cup run to the semi-final, assisting Darren Ambrose for his wonder strike against Manchester United. In March 2012, Zaha\u2019s hard work was recognised\u00a0as he won the\u00a0Football League Player of the Year award and\u00a0attracted interest from the likes of\u00a0Liverpool and Manchester United.<\/p>\n
Wilfred Zaha started the 2012-13 season as one of the club\u2019s key players following the sale of Darren Ambrose and Clyne.\u00a0He enjoyed a year he will never forget,\u00a0earning to promotion to the top\u00a0flight with Palace\u00a0and a move to Old Trafford, along with the small matter of winning his first cap for England.<\/p>\n
His\u00a0season started off brightly, forming a pivotal relationship with 30-goal hero Glenn Murray and fellow trickster Yannick Bolasie in a frightening front three that laid the foundations for eventual promotion. With four goals already to his name by early October, Zaha was rewarded with an England call-up, making his debut in\u00a0a win over Sweden in November 2012.<\/p>\n
Palace endured a difficult end to the 2012-13 season, going from title candidates to just scraping into play-offs on the final day of the season. Following a 0-0 stalemate with arch-rivals Brighton in the first leg,\u00a0the Eagles\u00a0travelled to the Amex as big underdogs and with top scorer Glenn Murray out injured, it was up to Zaha to steal the show on the south coast.<\/p>\n
With the home side getting closer and closer to the breaking the deadlock, the Eagles stunned the Seagulls in the 69th<\/sup> minute when Yannick Bolasie\u2019s in-swinging cross was headed in by Zaha. With the home side stunned, in the 88th<\/sup> minute, the winger turned his marker in the box and produced a thunderous strike to send the Eagles to Wembley.<\/p>\n Two weeks later, Ian Holloway led his side out in the play-off final against Watford and with Murray still out, it was up to Zaha to produce for one last time in a Palace shirt. With the game locked at 0-0, in the 105th<\/sup> minute Zaha\u00a0won a\u00a0penalty which Kevin Phillips duly slotted home to send the Eagles to the top flight.<\/p>\n After a fantastic three years at Crystal Palace which saw the winger move from hot prospect to key player, interest in Zaha had risen over the years and in January 2013, Manchester United signed the attacker on a five-and-a-half year contract for a fee rumoured to be around \u00a315 million. He\u00a0was loaned back to the Eagles for the final part of the 2012-13 season\u00a0as part of the transfer, but\u00a0on his\u00a0debut for his new club\u00a0in the Community Shield victory over Wigan,\u00a0he played\u00a061 minutes and won his first major honour in club football.<\/p>\n Chances after this were limited, however,\u00a0and he was\u00a0deemed surplus to requirements by David Moyes. In\u00a0January 2014,\u00a0he was\u00a0loaned out to Cardiff City in attempt to gain more first-team football. The winger went on to make 12 appearances for the Bluebirds, including a game against former club Crystal Palace where the Eagles ran out 3-0 winners.<\/p>\n The following summer, Zaha moved back to Palace, signed on loan by Neil Warnock. On the final day of the January transfer window,\u00a0he made his move back to South London permanent on a five-and-a-half year contract.<\/p>\n In his first full season back with the club under Alan Pardew, Zaha recreated the form that had the Red Devils\u00a0after his signature in the first place, making 34 appearances throughout the campaign. He was rewarded with the club’s Player of the Year award.<\/p>\n At Christmas, the club found themselves in the top six of the league, and although form in the league dropped throughout the campaign, the club had a run to the FA Cup final, in which Zaha played in every round. Despite this success, he only scored two goals and contributed one assist, drawing some criticism for his lack of end product.<\/p>\n The following season, the winger produced one of his best seasons for the club yet, scoring\u00a0seven goals in the league,\u00a0providing nine\u00a0assists, and\u00a0retaining the club\u2019s Player of the Year award. The Eagles endured a tough start to the season and Pardew found himself axed from the club with the side just above the bottom three. Sam Allardyce was called in to save the season.<\/p>\n From a personal point of view, this was by far the best season of Zaha’s career.\u00a0He had silenced his critics and\u00a0performed to the top of his game. Having helped the club secure survival, he signed a new five-year contract to squash fears that\u00a0he might\u00a0be off to Tottenham. Regardless of who manages the club this season, he is sure to be one of the club\u2019s biggest threats and form a devastating partnership with Andros Townsend and Christian Benteke.<\/p>\n Main PhotoManchester United<\/h3>\n
The Return<\/h3>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>