Crystal Palace offer Wilfried Zaha eye-watering £200,000-a-week deal as contract end looms

Crystal Palace have put an eye-watering £200,000-a-week on the table in an attempt to persuade Wilfried Zaha to sign a new contract with the club.

In football, there are certain players and clubs that just fit together perfectly.

For whatever reason, whether it be a tactical reason, a psychological issue or just a matter of feeling comfortable in a certain environment, some players struggle when they leave a club they thrived at.

Iago Aspas - who is a Celta Vigo legend but failed to light up the Premier League at Liverpool - is one example, and Wilfried Zaha is another.

Zaha and Crystal Palace go hand-in-hand, even though the attacker has always had the talent to play for a bigger club.

The Ivory Coast international did just that when he joined Manchester United in 2013, but after making just four appearances in two years at Old Trafford he returned to South London and has gone from strength to strength.

Zaha has played a huge role in Palace staying in the Premier League over the last ten years, but his 21-year association with the club could be about to end.

The 30-year-old's contract is set to expire in 50 days' time, and in a desperate attempt to convince him to stay, Palace have offered to increase his already huge wages.

According to The Athletic, Palace have offered Zaha a £200,000 per week, three-year contract, but the star has not yet decided whether to stick or twist.

Zaha is already the highest-earning player in the club's history, thanks to the £130,000-a-week, five-year deal he signed back in August 2018.

Zaha's contract runs out in the summer (Alamy)

At the time the attacker ignored interest from Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham to commit his future to the club, but at 30, he knows that this could be his last chance to prove himself at a club higher up in the table.

However, the opportunity for Zaha to play in the Champions League may have been and gone, and if money is a main consideration, he is unlikely to be offered such a huge salary by any other Premier League side.

Zaha - Palace's third most-capped player of all time - has scored 90 goals and provided 76 assists in 457 appearances for the club.

Should Zaha become a free agent, then Chelsea and Arsenal have both been linked with a move.

Topics: Wilfried Zaha, Manchester United, Premier League, Crystal Palace, Chelsea, Arsenal

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton