RED DEVILS’ INSURANCE OVER ZAHA
MANCHESTER UNITED protected themselves when they sold Wilfried Zaha back to Crystal Palace in 2015.
The Old Trafford club inserted a sell-on clause in the deal, in the event of the winger leaving Selhurst Park for big money.
The precise details of the agreement have remained private between the two clubs but it’s understood United would also have a buy-back option if Palace wanted to sell Zaha.
Eagles boss Roy Hodgson has admitted he cannot guarantee that Zaha, 25, will still be at Selhurst Park at the end of January, when the transfer window closes.
The player, who switched his international allegiance from England to Ivory Coast, has been in exciting form this season and impressed again in the
3-2 defeat to Arsenal on Thursday night. He is under contract to 2022 so Palace could demand a huge fee if a club like Chelsea came calling.
Zaha (right) was a United player for two years but was sent out on loan three times.
He went to Palace twice as well as Cardiff and feels he was never given a proper chance at Old Trafford.
Zaha was a
£10million signing, potentially rising to £15m, but his limited chances at United meant the deal never got to that stage.
He has been linked with Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City and could also be a target for Everton, managed by his former Palace boss Sam Allardyce. PAUL HETHERINGTON RAFA
★ BENITEZ recently said: “Some
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JOSE MOURINHO’S problems piled up last night as Manchester United failed to win for a fourth successive match.
The last three of those games have been draws in the Premier League and Mourinho’s side have now been overtaken by Chelsea for second place in the table.
To make matters worse, striker Romelu Lukaku suffered a worrying head injury after a sickening clash with Southampton defender Wesley Hoedt.
Lukaku had to be carried off on a stretcher and United rarely looked like scoring against Saints, who gave an excellent performance.
They kept a clean sheet, making the £75million sale of Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool look like shrewd business.
Eventually, United were indebted to the fine saves of David De Gea, which ensured they kept a clean sheet.
Mourinho challenged his players before the match to “believe in themselves”.
It may seem a strange thing for the United boss to have to say to a squad of highly paid internationals, deemed good enough to be with one of the biggest clubs in the world.
But Mourinho revealed he had to deliver that message against Burnley at Old Trafford on Boxing Day, when they were trailing 2-0.
His players responded in the second half