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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Ed Aarons

Crystal Palace in talks over loan return for Wilfried Zaha with Galatasaray

Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha tries to find a way past two Lecce defenders last month
Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha tries to find a way past two Lecce defenders last month. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Crystal Palace are in talks with Galatasaray over a surprise loan move for Wilfried Zaha after rejecting Newcastle’s latest offer for Marc Guéhi.

Zaha, who left Selhurst Park last summer as a free agent, has emerged as a target for Palace after the departure of Michael Olise for Bayern Munich. He has been made available for transfer after falling down the pecking order at Galatasaray last season.

The 31-year-old scored nine times in the Turkish League and against his former club Manchester United in the Champions League group stage but made only 13 league starts as Galatasaray beat Fenerbahce to the title.

Negotiations are understood to be ongoing over a potential season’s loan, with Galatasaray believed to have demanded about £9m to sell the Ivory Coast forward. It remains to be seen whether Palace would be willing to pay such a fee for a player who made more than 450 appearances for the club after coming through the academy.

Talks between Palace’s sporting director, Dougie Freedman, and his Newcastle counterpart, Paul Mitchell, over Guéhi are continuing despite Palace rejecting a £50m bid for the England defender. Newcastle are understood to remain cautiously optimistic that Guehi will start the season as a key component of their squad after the 24-year-old indicated he was keen to make the move, although Palace are insistent that the club captain will not be sold for less than their valuation. That is believed to be about £65m, although there is a recognition that with only one year remaining on his contract, a compromise could be struck.

Manchester United and Liverpool are among other clubs who have previously shown interest in Guéhi but they have yet to follow that up.

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