Manchester City Plot Move to Clinch Crystal Palace Talisman Wilfried Zaha Ahead of Rivals

Premier League leaders Manchester City are primed to join the £40m chase for Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha.

The Citizens are now reportedly among the clubs ready to offer Zaha a second chance at the big time, according to the Mirror, after his previous failed spell in Manchester with United. 

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The favourites for the title have already begun the preliminaries to potentially clinching Zaha, who they view as an alternative to Alexis Sanchez.

City want to ensure that they keep their squad filled with the type of attacking players Pep Guardiola is noticeably fond of.

Arsenal forward Sanchez is out of contract at the end of the season, but City will face heavy competition from other top European clubs, notably French leaders Paris Saint-Germain, leaving Zaha as a viable alternative.

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Zaha’s blistering form for Palace this season has lifted them out of the relegation zone into 14th after suffering the worst start in Premier League history, lifting his value up into the £40m bracket.

Zaha has reignited his career since returning to his boyhood club two years ago, after enduring a disappointing attempt at making it big at Manchester United.

He didn’t make a single Premier League start at United in 2013 and spent most of his two years at Old Trafford on loan at Cardiff and eventually back at Palace before returning permanently in 2015.

The Ivory Coast international, who has also won caps for England before opting to represent his birth country, enjoyed the best season of his career so far last term, scoring seven times and marking up 11 assists as Palace escaped relegation.

And after missing the first two months of the current campaign with a knee injury, he has returned with a vengeance and been the driving force that has seen Roy Hodgson’s side overcome their woeful start.