Wilfried Zaha

Early life

Born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Zaha moved with his family – including his eight siblings – to Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, at the age of four. He was educated at Whitehorse Manor Junior School, Thornton Heath and Selsdon High School, Selsdon.

He played football at school, and joined the Crystal Palace academy aged 12.

2009–10 season

Zaha was given his Crystal Palace first-team debut at home to Cardiff City on 27 March 2010 by caretaker manager Paul Hart as a substitute with 10 minutes remaining in the match. He signed a two-year professional contract with Palace during April 2010.

2010–11 season

He quickly progressed through the ranks at Palace and became a key member of the first team during the 2010–11 pre-season friendlies. On 7 August 2010, he scored his first senior goal in a 3–2 win over Leicester City. Zaha assisted Kieron Cadogan in the home match against Queens Park Rangers and James Vaughan in the away match against Watford. On 12 April 2011, he was sent off in the 95th minute against Leicester City for an alleged stamp on Patrick van Aanholt but it was later rescinded. Zaha ended the season playing a total of 44 matches, while scoring 1 goal and having 2 assists in all competitions.

2011–12 season

Zaha started the 2011–12 season by scoring two goals in a League Cup match on 23 August 2011 at home to Crawley Town. On 30 November, Zaha impressed in Crystal Palace's 2–1 shock win over Manchester United in the League Cup, constantly sneaking through the United defence and in January, attracting interest from Liverpool and Manchester United.

In March 2012, Zaha was voted The Football League's Young Player of the Year.

In the latter part of the season, manager Dougie Freedman opted to play Zaha as a striker and on 21 April he scored in a 2–2 draw with Reading, in a match that saw Reading secure the Championship title. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Zaha was voted Crystal Palace Young Player of the Year for a second time in a row. During this season, he made 48 appearances while scoring 9 goals and recording 5 assists.

2012–13 season

Zaha started the 2012–13 season brightly, getting an assist in the League Cup against Exeter City and winning a penalty in the first league match against Watford. Zaha scored his first two goals of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 2 October 2012. He then scored two goals in a match again, four days later, in a 4–3 win over Burnley.

On 5 March 2013, Zaha scored his first goal for Crystal Palace since being loaned back from Manchester United, in a 4–2 victory against promotion rivals Hull City. On 13 May 2013, in the second leg of the play-off semi-final against Brighton, Zaha scored two goals in the second half to put Crystal Palace into the play-off final at Wembley Stadium. In the play-off final on 27 May 2013, Zaha won a penalty that was converted to secure Crystal Palace a Premier League spot for 2013–14.

Manchester United

On 25 January 2013, Zaha agreed to join Premier League club Manchester United, and would immediately be loaned back to Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season. Palace tried to delay the transfer and agree the transfer in the summer of 2013, but Football League rules prevented this with the player having to join United and be loaned back to Palace. Zaha passed the medical at Manchester United, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract on 26 January 2013 for a reported £10m rising to £15m with performance-related add-ons.

2013–14 season

On 11 August 2013, Zaha made his debut for Manchester United in the 2013 FA Community Shield against Wigan Athletic. He was included in the starting line-up and played 61 minutes before being replaced by Antonio Valencia as he won his first major honour in football.

On 31 January 2014, Zaha completed a loan move to Cardiff City for the remainder of the 2013–14 season after being left out of favour by then manager David Moyes.

2014–15 season

On 28 August 2014, Zaha agreed to a season-long loan deal with Crystal Palace. Two days later, in the first match of his loan, he scored a stoppage-time equaliser in a 3–3 draw at Newcastle United. On 2 February 2015, the final day of the winter transfer window, Zaha's move to Palace was made permanent with the signing of a five-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. It also included a buy back clause, believed to be in the region of £3 million, rising to £6 million with add-ons; Manchester United will also receive a percentage of the fee if Palace sell Zaha in the future.

Zaha played regularly for Crystal Palace throughout the season, finishing the season with 4 goals and 2 assists as Crystal Palace finished the league in 10th place.

2015–16 season

Again, Zaha was a regular for Crystal Palace in this season, making 34 appearances, scoring 2 goals and recording 1 assist, while Crystal Palace finished in 15th place. He helped Crystal Palace reach the 2016 FA Cup Final, by playing in every match since the third round entry and scoring 2 goals along the way. Zaha played the whole 120 minutes in the final, but could not help Palace to a victory, as Manchester United won 2–1. Zaha won the Crystal Palace Player of the Year for the first time.

2016–17 season

On 26 December 2016, Zaha was declined a penalty in the closing minutes against Watford. Some speculated that Zaha had overplayed the foul or taken a dive. After the match Watford's mascot attempted to rile Zaha up by mimicking a dive in front of him. On 14 May 2017, Zaha scored the opening goal in the 3rd minute of the Crystal Palace Hull city game that simultaneously mathematically secured Crystal Palace's top flight status and relegated Hull City to the Sky Bet Championship. After another outstanding season with The Eagles, Zaha won Crystal Palace's Player of the Year award for the second year running. On 26 May 2017, Zaha signed a new five-year contract with Crystal Palace.

International career

Zaha was eligible to represent both the Ivory Coast and England, the former because it was where he was born and the latter because it is where he grew up.

England (2011–2013)

His success over the course of his first full season resulted in a call-up to the England under-19 team for their match against Germany in February 2011. He was called up to the under-21 team on 23 February 2012. He made his debut in a 4–0 win against Belgium on 29 February, assisting Henri Lansbury for the third goal. On 11 November 2012, Zaha was called up to the senior team by manager Roy Hodgson for a friendly match against Sweden on 14 November. He came on as a substitute for fellow debutant Raheem Sterling in the 83rd minute.

Ivory Coast (2016–present)

On 27 November 2016, the Ivorian Football Federation confirmed that Zaha had sent correspondence to FIFA to switch his international football allegiance from England to the Ivory Coast. In response to this development, Gareth Southgate indicated he would try to dissuade Zaha from changing allegiance due to his consistent club form. He was named in the Ivory Coast squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. He made his debut against Sweden in a friendly, being subbed on at half time, assisting Giovanni Sio's goal in a 2–1 win.

Club

International

International goals

Club

Crystal Palace

Manchester United

Individual