Arsenal has bid £40 Million for Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace want £100 Million, so let’s play a little game, let’s assume that a compromise is reached and a deal worth £70 Million is agreed.
So far so good, Arsenal get their man and Palace get a wad full of cash.
But even at £70 Million, is Zaha really worth that? I am sure a lot will say yes but let me give you some perspective about what the Ivory Coast international would cost us in reality.
Two Ajax players, among many, had a brilliant season last year, they ran the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus ragged and they are Hakim Ziyech and David Neres.
Now, the 26-year-old Ziyech who can also play either in the centre of midfield or on the wing can be had for as little as £25 Million according to the Daily Mail.
And, he apparently is keen on a move to Arsenal claims The Sun.
Forward David Neres, who is just 22-years-old is on the radar of Everton but back at the start of June The Mirror was reporting that he Arsenal was interested in the young Brazilian and his price tag was £40 Million.
So, for those two players, we are talking a combined transfer fee of £65 Million.
That is £5 Million less than what Zaha would cost if a compromise was reached between Palace and Arsenal.
Now, there are some points that need to be thrown into the mix, as an example, we would be talking two wages as opposed to one and there have been recent reports that Ajax now want £90 million for Neres.
It is also accepted that most of this info comes from tabloids, but that is not the point, I am not arguing that Arsenal are interested or even that the players are for sale, I am using them as examples of how a combination of players can be signed for less than what it would cost to sign Zaha.
I could easily come up with any combination of players, swap Neres for Ryan Fraser as an example, the question still stands, is Wilfried Zaha really worth the combined total of two top class players?