Crystal Palace respond to Arsenal’s opening £40m offer for Wilfried Zaha

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery is a big fan of Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha and intends to bring him to the Emirates in the summer transfer window. Reportedly Arsenal have made their first offer of £40m for the forward on Monday but fell short of Palace’s valuation, BBC Sport claim. Palace are unwilling to lose Zaha after selling Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United. It’s known that Zaha himself wants to join Arsenal and he told Palace about his intentions but the five-year contract he signed last summer has no release clause. After news broke of Arsenal’s offer, Zaha’s brother Judicael urged Palace to lower their demands. "Wilfried will always hold Crystal Palace and their fans in the highest regard and all the support they have given means the world to him," he told Sky Sports. "It’s my brother’s dream though, to play for Arsenal. Given all that Wilfried has given to Crystal Palace to help them remain a Premier League club, I hope Palace will be able to see their way to agreeing a deal with Arsenal that allows Wilfried to realise his dream of playing European Football for the club he’s supported since childhood."

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