Transfer Talk: Zaha invited to the Gala as Palace wave goodbye to club legend

Wilfried Zaha has left Crystal Palace permanently for the second time in his career, this time pitching up at Galatasaray.

Though the move looks an unusual one on the face of it, with Lazio and Roma also in the mix, Zaha joins a club with real ambition of progression in the Champions League this season.

We analyse what Palace are losing — and the Turkish champions gaining — from the deal.

Surprise move

After years of being linked with Arsenal, Tottenham, Borussia Dortmund and others, a switch to Galatasaray appears underwhelming.

Though Zaha arrives at one of the biggest clubs in Turkey, his failure to land a move to a European giant shows the perils of players signing deals that they do not intend to fulfil.

The winger committed his future to Palace back in 2018, signing a contract that has only just expired, and has expressed frustration since that they would not sell him.

Now aged 30, the only route into the Champions League was via a club he probably would not have considered until this summer.

Golden Eagle

The move is a difficult pill for Palace to swallow, as they not only wave goodbye to a legendary figure but do not even receive any money for him.

Zaha has made the third-most appearances in the club's history, 458, and is their 10th-highest goalscorer, with 90 strikes across his two spells at Selhurst Park.

And upon departing, he acknowledged his love for the Eagles, saying: "We have been through so much together.

"I’ve been wearing the Palace shirt since I was eight and I always gave EVERYTHING when I wore it."

Sharing the burden

Though the South London outfit were reportedly prepared to pay Zaha £200,000 per week to remain at the club, the fact that they are less reliant on him than ever should be a comfort.

Palace lost all eight league matches without their talisman in the 2017-18 season and won just one of their eight in his absence in 2020-21 — but fell to defeat in only three of the 11 he missed last term.

Boss Roy Hodgson admitted that while he has leaned on Zaha in the past, exciting attacking midfielders Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise are now sharing the creative burden.

He said: "We have been very dependent upon Wilf for a long time.

"We were unbelievably grateful to him for the performances he gave. Now, with Eze and Olise, there is more support for the attacking side of the game."

Turkish delight

Dribbling has always been the best feature of Zaha's game — and even though he was less productive last season, that attribute still stood out.

The Ivory Coast international ranked second in the English top flight for dribbles per game and sat 14th for shots, suggesting he has not lost that ability to force defenders backwards and run into shooting positions with the ball.

He also joins a Galatasaray line-up, featuring Nicolo Zaniolo and Dries Mertens, that looks capable of making its mark in the Champions League this season.

If they are able to progress through qualification to the group stage, Zaha will reason that this move has fulfilled his ambition to a greater extent than it may look at first glance.