West Ham's plans for life without Declan Rice have been dealt a huge blow with top target Wilfried Zaha warned against making a move to the London Stadium.
Zaha has left Crystal Palace after the end of his contract, having become the Eagles' most important player. The winger is now hoping to step up to a bigger club, having delivered consistently impressive performances at Selhurst Park.
He previously had a failed spell at Manchester United before returning to Palace and emerging as one of the Premier League's best attackers. He will likely be the subject of heavy interest this summer, with West Ham one of the teams keen to sign him.
The Hammers will have a large war chest to overhaul their squad, with captain Rice set to join Arsenal for £105million. But their hopes of making Zaha a key plank of their new-look side have suffered a blow.
Premier League icon Darren Bent does not believe joining the Hammers would be the best move for the winger. Bent questioned if David Moyes' side is enough of a step-up for the former Palace star.
“He’s been a fantastic servant, but there’s only a handful of clubs that I think he could go to. I’ve got Aston Villa, I’ve gone Chelsea but they’ve Nkunku on that left-hand side so maybe they don’t need anyone, but I’ve put them on the list," he told talkSPORT.
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“I’ve got Newcastle and I’ve got Spurs, they’re the teams in the Premier League. I did put West Ham on there because they’re in Europe but will Wilfried Zaha want to leave Crystal Palace to go to West Ham?
“I know they won the Conference League last year and just about survived in the Premier League – would he see that as a step up, a step back or as a fresh challenge? I look elsewhere, I think that the time for Arsenal has passed, Manchester City no, Manchester United have Marcus Rashford.”
Zaha's contract with Palace came to an end on Friday, with the Eagles having offered him a club-record contract worth £200,000 per week. But the attacker has yet to confirm his future plans.
The Palace legend was recently honoured with a mural dedicated to him which has been displayed outside Selhurt Park. And he admitted he had been left overwhelmed by the support shown to him.
Zaha tweeted: "Speechless! Words can’t exactly express or describe the joy I felt standing there and witnessing this painting with my family and friends. Honestly still hasn’t sunk in but all I can say is thank you."
