Wilfried Zaha delighted by Man Utd move from Crystal Palace

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Wilfried Zaha and Fabio

Wilfried Zaha says he is delighted at his summer move to Manchester Unitedexternal-link but insists his "focus" remains on winning promotion with Crystal Palace.

The 20-year-old winger has agreed a five-and-a-half year deal but will be loaned back to Palace until the summer.

Zaha said: "I am delighted to be joining Manchester United. However, my focus for the next five months will be solely at Crystal Palace."

United will pay £10m up front, with an extra £5m in additional fees.

The two clubs confirmed they had reached an agreement on Friday morning, with Palace also announcing they expect the move to be finalised next week.

The skilful wide-man has already agreed personal terms with the Premier League leaders and will now undergo a medical in Manchester.

"We like to sign players with potential," manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. "We develop players and that's been proven many times. Hopefully the boy enjoys it here."

Zaha clever turn and finish to score

Zaha joined Palace as a 12-year-old, and could be in line to win his second England cap against Brazil in February.external-link

He has excelled since making his debut for the Selhurst Park outfit in March 2010, scoring 15 goals in 124 appearances and being named the Football League Young Player of the Year last season.

"I have been at Palace for more than 10 years, I will always love the club and I want to help get them back to the Premier League, particularly for the fans who have always been so good to me," Zaha added.

Sir Alex Ferguson keen on Wilfried Zaha 'potential'

Palace are currently fourth in the Championship table, two points behind Leicester who fill the last automatic promotion place.

Co-chairman Steve Parish had always insisted Zaha would not leave the club on a permanent basis in Januaryexternal-link and he expressed his delight with the terms that will see the attacker continue to play a pivotal role in their bid to reach the top flight.

He said:external-link "I feel this is a great deal for the club and the player. It was essential to Wilf and ourselves that he stayed at Palace for the remainder of this season to help the club with its main aim of promotion to the Premier League."

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555 comments

  • Comment posted by wirral18, at 11:30 25 Jan 2013

    @Sams Town
    "United will never get near to Barca or Real Madrid..

    Apparently United have 390 million fans but they can't fill their ground?"

    You've made the cardinal sin of saying an opinion and giving a fact that works completely against your opinion

    Barca Av Atten = 80k, cap = 99k, % = 81%
    Real M Av atten = 70k, cap = 80k, % = 88%
    Man Utd Av atten = 75k, cap = 76k, % = 99%

    Boom

  • Comment posted by U14277094, at 11:55 25 Jan 2013

    He's a better player than Young who cost more. Oh, and he remains vertical for longer !

  • Comment posted by SE1 FC, at 11:49 25 Jan 2013

    @ 120

    not wumming here. i think in spain the finances work differently to the UK, i think that in the uk the rights for the whole league are sold and the money distributed, in spain each team can sell rights individually - if that happened in the uk MU would be far far richer then RA.
    cant say with 100% confidence but i strongly think this is true, probably worth some reseach

  • Comment posted by U15106390, at 11:31 25 Jan 2013

    @95.

    If Sir Alex Ferguson, who's team are the current league leaders by a distance, is 'losing it', then bring on more of the same.

  • Comment posted by U14995855, at 11:24 25 Jan 2013

    Plenty of time for Zaha to develop and mature under the Ferguson tutelage...will probably be a £30m by the end of his contract at United. Good luck to him and hope he realises his FULL potential there.

  • Comment posted by U15579712, at 14:13 25 Jan 2013

    Zaha is a good player.Not a great player,but he is going to a club that can turn him into a great player and he's chosen to play for England, and that can't be bad for the future.

  • Comment posted by U15583889, at 12:44 25 Jan 2013

    Liverpool fans lecturing on transfers! After their club spent £35 million on Andy Carroll! Chelsea fans, remember Torres? The benchwarmer who cost £50 million! City fans, do you remember Santa Cruz, £17 mllion wasn't it? And Adebayor for £25 million. Every club makes mistakes, United get more press because they are such a huge club.

  • Comment posted by matt, at 17:32 25 Jan 2013

    hello gus i just cannot be arsed to put punctuation ive been working outside 240 foot up and i am freezing and my wife is out shopping so i havent had a cup of tea yet i am sat here shivering and i am too chauvanistic to make my own tea maybe i should light a fire

  • Comment posted by U15583889, at 12:12 25 Jan 2013

    All these ABUs comparing Zaha with Ince, I hope you are all Blackpool fans because or else you are showing how bitter you really all are. If Ince was that good he wouldn't have been allowed to leave Liverpool so easily. Only time will tell if Zaha will be a great signing or not. Statistics alone don't tell the whole story, well unless you are a fifa fanboy obsessed with "ratings".

  • Comment posted by mk, at 07:36 26 Jan 2013

    @501 Giz you really are an idiot. No one cares what you have to say. If you really believe what you've written i.e. that football rivalry is really that important to you, then you are a very sad, tragic and lonely person with little imagination and no doubt a pointless existence. If not, you are definitely very very boring.

  • Comment posted by U14838542, at 20:55 25 Jan 2013

    I think Zaha is one of the most gifted young players in the country right now. I have followed his career for a couple of years now thanks to a couple of friends who are Palace fans. He could be a fantastic player. Just needs to realise how good he is and SAF is one of the best at doing that. He will also teach him the right times to try the fancy stuff. Great signing for United!

  • Comment posted by U15517008, at 18:35 26 Jan 2013

    He's @ a club that will give him the chance to develop into a good good player, if he can fulfill his potential.

  • Comment posted by Gremlin657, at 14:37 25 Jan 2013

    Another canny, good purchase by Man Utd. I'm not a Man Utd supporter but i can just imagine all the jealous Man City, Arsenal fans wishing they'd got in there first whinging about Alex F again.

  • Comment posted by colonel_white, at 14:08 25 Jan 2013

    I do think Zaha is a good signing for ManU though. I think Ferguson is canny enough to look at his existing wide men, and realise that they are either not consistent enough (Nani), fit enough (Valencia... a real hit IMHO) or too old (Giggs). Zaha *looks* a terrfic talent and I hope he does well.

  • Comment posted by U2989010, at 13:29 25 Jan 2013

    Good job he didn't go to city or he would be wasted.

  • Comment posted by davey bones, at 13:28 25 Jan 2013

    #238, that's what these forums are about dopey, it's called a debate, is that a bit tricky for you to grasp?

  • Comment posted by U15350847, at 13:26 25 Jan 2013

    Glad this has gone thought, hopefully get rid of nani in the summer now.

  • Comment posted by U15590694, at 13:12 25 Jan 2013

    Nice to see the young feller given a chance to help Palace move up and then to play for a team like united,i wish him the best of luck what an opputunity for the lad, hope he doesnt waste it like others have in the past

  • Comment posted by Dan, at 13:05 25 Jan 2013

    @200/207
    Give me a break guys. Nani has consistently underachieved. Can you name one big game where he was our match winner or even our most influential player? When he is not in the team I don't even notice or care any more. Yeah he has skills but far too inconsistent. As Valancia he has been a fantastic signing. Sure he has lost some form recently but he was magnificent even after a long injury

  • Comment posted by U14943812, at 12:21 25 Jan 2013

    @156 - Davey my friend, have you not see the league table? If you look you may find that United are 5 points clear and have had their best start to a season ever, so I suspect he may be competing against quite a lot! In any case he is staying at Crystal Palace for the season, which like the league table I suspect you may have missed also.

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