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Your support makes all the difference.It speaks volumes for Wilfried Zaha's relationship with Crystal Palace that in the days after expressing his desire to leave the club in an interview with the Daily Mail, Eagles fans at the Emirates Stadium continued to loudly voice their support for the Ivory Coast forward.
Perhaps it is because Zaha's performances for Palace over the past few seasons have been at such a high level that everybody knew this day would come? In modern football, where the rich get richer and mid-table anonymity has become a business model to cling onto, most of the fans who stream in and out of Selhurst Park every other week will have realised at some point that they were going to have to enjoy Zaha while they can.
The academy product has played over 300 times for the club where he grew up, flew the nest and then returned with his wings clipped. The winger has soared since becoming a Crystal Palace player again in 2014, recovering from being 'belittled' at Manchester United, a club where coaches tried to break him, to become one of the Premier League's most dangerous players.
It was to Palace's benefit that things didn't work out for Zaha at Old Trafford, allowing them to re-sign a player with the raw talent to be playing in the Champions League every week, but that failure to make an impression at the top level has meant a fire continued to burn inside a determined young man.
"I've been through so much to get to where I am now for anything to stop me getting to that next level, or returning to that next level," he said this week.
"My story doesn't stop here. I'm too ambitious. And not ambitious just to play for a top club but to win things at club level and with the Ivory Coast. To go to the next level and test myself properly."
Zaha, then, has decided. Roy Hodgson tried to put a positive spin on things after his side's win at Arsenal on Sunday, claiming Zaha was "happy at Crystal Palace" (true) and will be "in the shirt for many years to come" (much less likely).
"That wasn't the performance of a guy looking to get away from his club," Hodgson added.
Only, it was. Zaha was never going to down tools and disrespect the club that gave him everything , instead he is hoping to continue to stand out as teams make their final plans for the summer and, he hopes, earn himself a move to a Champions League club.
So what will any potential deal look like?
Crystal Palace's demands
Crystal Palace do not want to sell Wilfried Zaha and chairman Steve Parish counts on a good relationship with the forward but - with the club having posted a £35m loss in their most recent set of accounts - appreciates that every player has their price.
The Eagles think that a player with Zaha's unique gamebreaking ability is worth a premium price and should fetch £75m at least. The difficulty is working out which clubs will: a) have that money to spend, and b) choose to spend it on Zaha.
As of yet, there has been no contact between Palace and any other club. Some at the club doubt whether Zaha's salary means he is already beyond the reach of those clubs his camp have earmarked as potential destinations. The club didn't know about the interview until it appeared online on Friday night.
A worthwhile footnote to all this is that selling Zaha would mean Palace are under no pressure to cash in on full-back sensation Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The young defender, who is expected to become a full international with England this year, has had an outstanding campaign for Palace and is being followed by much of Europe's elite. As Hodgson recently asserted, though, Wan-Bissaka has years remaining on his deal and still can make steps in south London. They do not want to sell and don't need to either. While that isn't always the end of the story, it would take a huge offer or something unusual to change the club's mind on Wan-Bissaka, who might make them more money than Zaha down the line.
Zaha's demands
Zaha is currently on a long-term contract worth in the region of £130,000 per week, making him Crystal Palace's top earner slightly above strike partner Christian Benteke and defensive cornerstone Mamadou Sakho.
Sources close to the player insist that his main motivation is being able to challenge himself at the top level and salary concerns are secondary. The Ivorian believes he will shine in the Champions League given the chance, and thus he would accept the sort of modest pay rise that would be essential if he were to move somewhere with a stricter wage policy like Tottenham or Borussia Dortmund. Those close to Zaha on the business side fear the club might price him out of a move.
Clubs who have shown an interest
Tottenham Hotspur are the club that has made the biggest push to sign Zaha since his permanent return to Palace in 2014, though their derisory bid of £15m in August 2016 was laughed out of Selhurst Park by Parish.
Zaha's agent Will Salthouse managed to broker talks between the clubs at the time but the valuations of the player were miles apart, and the 26-year-old winger is now going to cost way more.
Considering how little Spurs have spent on transfers in the last few seasons - making history this year by not buying a single player in the 2018/19 campaign - it is difficult to see them unloading the required fee to sign Zaha, but the fit would be one of the best for the player, not requiring him to move house, and a relationship already exists. Parish and Daniel Levy, his Spurs counterpart, have great respect for each other but it is unlikely that the gap in financial expectations could be bridged unless Tottenham were to sell a big star this summer - possibly Christian Eriksen.
Should Eriksen go then Zaha becomes an option in theory, but club sources say he wasn't a target at all last summer so this still feels unlikely in practice until something major shifts.
Another club that has shown interest is Borussia Dortmund, who are expected to lose Jadon Sancho to one of the Premier League elite this summer.
Dortmund could do far worse than to replace Sancho with a more experienced, similarly talented wide forward and Zaha would get to fulfil his Champions League dream. The nagging doubt is that Zaha's price tag would wipe out much of Dortmund's incomings from any potential sale of teen sensation Sancho, where buying young players for knockdown fees has previously been their modus operandi.
Chelsea were linked in January when Real Madrid came knocking for Eden Hazard, but have replaced him - in kind - with Christian Pulisic already. A transfer ban also looms large over Stamford Bridge. Inter have been linked and will be in the market for a star forward this summer, but it would be a surprise if Zaha was their man to replace Mauro Icardi.
Clubs who could show an interest
It is only worth focusing on clubs who could afford the sort of fee and salary that this deal would demand. Zaha has specifically said he wants to play Champions League football, which could also rule out the two teams finishing fifth and sixth in the Premier League who would likely have the financial might to buy Zaha but not the lure of Uefa's top-tier club competition.
Fortunately for the player, those two spots are almost certain to be filled by Manchester United (unlikely to try Zaha again), Arsenal (limited funds) and Chelsea (likely transfer ban). Should Arsenal finish in the top four or qualify for the Champions League via the Europa then there is a small chance they'd come to the table but a club-record deal for Zaha does not fit with the ethos the club has tried to install over the last year or so since Arsene Wenger departed. Young players on an upward curve appear to be the priority.
Manchester City and Liverpool are clubs that Salthouse would obviously want in the mix for his client, but City are very well stocked at the position and opted for Riyad Mahrez over Zaha last summer. Liverpool are happy with their front three and would likely be looking for a different profile even in the unlikely event that Mohamed Salah leaves the club. The fact that Klopp admires the player is the lingering doubt.
A move overseas?
Outside the Premier League there is a very short list of teams who could afford Zaha. Real Madrid and Barcelona could but have targets in mind already. Bayern are keen to get younger and are planning a significant overhaul this summer but Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi are already being lined up and come in cheaper than the Ivorian, though Hudson-Odoi's injury could change things.
Paris Saint-Germain and some of Italy's bigger clubs would have the cash to do a deal but Zaha would have to be a crown jewel. Whether anyone is willing to make that move for him, despite years of outstanding Premier League performances, remains in doubt.
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