Club ‘closely following’ Crystal Palace star – ‘First contacts’ with entourage already made

Roma are ready to make a move for Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha if Stephan El Shaarawy does not renew his deal at the club.

That’s according to Roma Giallorossa who say the Italian club are ‘closely following’ the Palace star and have already held ‘first contacts’ with his entourage.

They explain that the club are planning for the future and during the World Cup break will focus on getting players signed to new deals and finalise negotiations for next June.

That includes first contacts for Zaha, who is an old target for Jose Mourinho and would have been targeted this summer if they had not signed Andrea Belotti.

The interest in him stems from the fact that El Shaarawy staying at Roma is uncertain as he is yet to sign a new contract with the club despite talks being held.

If he fails to do so then Roma will instead look towards the Crystal Palace star, who they see as a valid alternative to Belotti and Tammy Abraham.

Everything is still in the making but first contacts have been held with Zaha’s agents about a possible move.

He’s attractive not only because of Mourinho’s liking of him but also because his contract expires next summer, and he is yet to renew with Crystal Palace.

They would presumably like to keep him beyond that point, but no new deal has been signed yet and that is something Roma are more than aware of.