Wilfried Zaha deal could cost Manchester United over £15m

• Forward will initially earn £35,000 a week at Old Trafford
• Zaha will complete season on loan at Crystal Palace

by Dominic Fifield 3 months ago

Wilfried Zaha will finally complete his long mooted move from Crystal Palace to Manchester United before the weekend after the Premier League leaders agreed a deal that will potentially be worth in excess of £15m with the Championship club.

United will make a downpayment of £10m for the 20-year-old, who made his England debut as a substitute in November's 4-2 friendly defeat in Sweden, with further staggered payments up to £5m due after a certain number of appearances while at the Old Trafford club. Zaha will initially earn £35,000 a week on his five-and-a-half-year contract, and Palace are also understood to have negotiated a clause whereby they would be entitled to a proportion of any profit should Zaha be sold by United.

The forward will complete the current campaign on loan at Selhurst Park, as anticipated, as Palace seek to return to the top flight for the first time in eight years. Ian Holloway's side are fourth in the division, with the club's hierarchy having stood by their pledge that their prized asset would play out the season with the club so as not to jeopardise their push for promotion. It remains to be seen whether United will also loan some of their younger fringe players to Palace before the end of the transfer window.

Zaha, who joined Palace's academy at the age of 12, is expected to be named in Roy Hodgson's England squad for next month's friendly against Brazil at Wembley having been scouted by the national side's assistant coach, Ray Lewington, in Saturday's goalless draw against Bolton Wanderers. He has scored 15 goals in 124 appearances for the club since his first-team debut against Cardiff in March 2010, but his development has notably gathered pace this term, alerting the Premier League's elite to his progress.