Wilfried Zaha transfer verdict surfaces amid Aston Villa 'interest'

Unai Emery is a huge admirer of Galatasaray winger Wilfried Zaha, who has recently emerged as a transfer target for Aston Villa.

The former Crystal Palace and Manchester United star only moved to Turkey in the summer but an almost immediate return to England could be on the cards. Football Transfers reports Villa are "working hard to sign a winger" and have placed Zaha on their shortlist, along with Lazio ace Felipe Anderson.

Zaha is a previous target of Emery's as the Spaniard attempted to sign the attacker for Arsenal, it has resurfaced. "Zaha won games on his own: Tottenham, Manchester City, us. Incredible performances. I told them [the Arsenal board]: ‘This is the player I know and want,'" Emery told The Guardian in 2020.

"I met Zaha and he wanted to come. The club decided Pepe was one for the future. I said: ‘Yes, but we need to win now and this lad wins games.’ He beat us on his own. It’s also true he was expensive and Palace didn’t want to sell,” Emery said during his The Guardian interview, a little over three years ago.

Fast forward to the present day and expense would no longer be an obstacle to overcome – and neither would disagreements in the boardroom. Emery has far more control over transfer decisions at Villa than he did at Arsenal, meaning his targets have more chance of being acquired.

Zaha happy at Galatasaray but could be tempted

Zaha is said to be happy in Turkey and not looking to move on this January after signing a three-year deal just months ago, but a move to Premier League title challengers could prove tempting. The previous conversations with Emery might give Villa a chance, too, as Zaha was convinced by the manager's capabilities previously.

Now 31 years of age, the versatile, speedy and tricky forward may never have another chance to win silverware in England if he doesn't move to Villa. Zaha scored 90 goals and notched 76 assists in 458 appearances for Palace. He has seven goals and two assists in 21 games for Galatasaray this campaign.