Chelsea 'face paying club-record £80m' to sign Zaha in January
Premier League
By
Mirror
| Dec 12, 2019
Crystal Palace have slapped a £80million price tag on Chelsea target Wilfried Zaha.
Zaha wanted to leave the club last summer and was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal, with the north London club even making a bid for him.
But Palace dug their heels in and Arsenal turned their attention to Nicolas Pepe instead, ultimately forcing the Ivory Coast star to remain in south London.
However, speculation surrounding his future has resurfaced after Chelsea had their transfer ban lifted last week, allowing them to sign new players when the window reopens next month.
According to the Evening Standard, the Eagles will not budge from their £80m valuation of Zaha.
It means the Blues will have to break the bank to prise the winger away from Selhurst Park, with any potential fee set to usurp the club-record £71million they paid for Kepa last year. Zaha is under contract until June 2023, after penning a new five-year deal in 2018, and he is undoubtedly the club's prized asset.
Palace, it is understood, will not stand in Zaha's way should Chelsea come calling in January but they are determined to only sell him if the price is right.
Zaha endured a tricky start to the season but is beginning to show the form that has seen him linked with Premier League giants.
He scored in the 2-0 win over Burnley on November 30 and then helped the Eagles to an impressive victory over Bournemouth last week despite the team playing with 10 men for 71 minutes.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, meanwhile, is relaxed about the upcoming January transfer window after his side reached the Champions League knock-out stages.
Yet Lampard said: "I'm calm about this window. I know what the squad is. We feel very together in the dressing room.
"We are improving and even the little bumps during the last two weeks are part of the process and we don't see so much in January that you can do great business.
"If it is there to be done and it feels like it is right for the club that is a conversation for me and upstairs, but I am very calm with January.
"I believe in what we've got now and I don't think we will be crazy just because the transfer ban has been lifted. I think we just need to keep working."