Wilfried Zaha left Crystal Palace at the end of his contract in 2023 and didn’t quite have the options of clubs that maybe he would have done had his contract ended a year or two earlier.
Galatasaray provided a decent signing-on fee for the free agent, and gave him a contract until June 2026. There were obviously huge expectations around Zaha’s move to Turkey and whilst he certainly hasn’t been a disaster, it would have been impossible for him to live up to all the hype.
As the season grew older and the Istanbul club fought for the title, Zaha slipped out of starting contention and that saw claims the Super Lig champions would look to part ways this summer.
Crystal Palace are one of a number of clubs who have been credited with interest, although it was thought they’d face a battle when it came to personal terms and also agreeing a deal with Gala.
Yağız Sabuncuoğlu now reports the first hurdle has been jumped, saying Zaha has ‘reached an agreement’ to join Crystal Palace and return to the Eagles.
According to the Turkish journalist, the player is now ‘waiting for the clubs to agree a deal’. That may not be quite as difficult as some have suggested, with Galatasaray always looking for the next big signing and Zaha leaving being a help in that regard.
Update: The same journalist now says the clubs are close to reaching a deal.
