Back in November 2011, Manchester United were the victims of a giant-killing at the hands of Crystal Palace in the League Cup.
But it wasn’t just the scoreline that caught the eye or Alex Ferguson’s attention. A teenage winger stole the show against a United team which had eight full internationals on the pitch.
Since that night, Wilfried Zaha has been building a burgeoning reputation in the Championship, dazzling supporters with his trickery, quick feet and flair. He has already made over 100 appearances for the Eagles.
It has been a meteoric rise which has already seen the Ivory Coast-born starlet earn an England cap, lead his club to the upper echelons of the second tier and spark a transfer scramble between the Premier League’s top clubs.
Nani's departure
Man United won that race, beating off Arsenal and Tottenham, to secure Zaha’s signature for a fee of almost €18 million with the move almost certainly signalling Nani’s departure from Old Trafford in the summer.
But for the next six months, Zaha will be loaned back to the club he joined as a 10-year-old, to prevent any upheaval midway through an important season in his development.
This term Zaha has scored five goals and provided five assists in 30 games to help Crystal Palace into the Championship Playoff places, with an automatic promotion spot still in sight.
The 20-year-old is ranked 13th on the Actim Index – the Championhsip’s ranking system – and won the Football League’s Young Player of the Month award for October as well as last season’s Young Player of the Year award.
On the face of it, his end product does not seem particularly impressive. However, Cristiano Ronaldo was not a goalscoring machine either when he first signed for United.
Whether he can reach the Portuguese’s level is open to debate, but Zaha is an excellent prospect with time on his side so Ferguson will be confident that he can develop that side of the youngster’s game.
