Newcastle United are 13th in the Premier League for goals (40) and have only squeezed out nine goals from Allan Saint-Maximin (5), Ryan Fraser (2), Jacob Murphy (1) and Miguel Almiron (1) this season, so Eddie Howe could do with one or two new faces.
Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail says Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha is on Newcastle’s radar and Darren Bent believes it would be a good move for both parties. He believes switching to St James’ Park would be a positive career step but also feels Zaha will stay at Selhurst Park until retirement if he doesn’t go this summer.
Bent said on talkSPORT (h/t HITC Sport): “I think Newcastle might be maybe the place for him. If I’m Newcastle, I’m trying to get him because he’s a top player. But if he doesn’t leave this summer, then I think that’s him at Crystal Palace. Unless he moves this summer, I can see him staying at Palace for the rest of his career.”
The 29-year-old has made 426 appearances in all competitions at Palace (2010 – 2013) (2014/15) (2015 – present), scoring 81 goals with 73 assists. This season, Zaha has scored 13 goals with two assists in 33 games across the board, so he’d be a major improvement on what Newcastle currently have.
The Ivorian international’s contract is up in 2023 too, so Palace need to either tie him down to a new deal, cash in this summer or risk losing him for free next year. This could open the door to Newcastle signing Zaha if they’re genuinely interested, so time will tell.
In other news, Noel Whelan says Newcastle signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is a ‘no-brainer’
