Everton will hope David Moyes experience doesn’t put Wilfried Zaha off returning north

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Everton are reportedly pursuing a move for Crystal Palace attacker Wilfried Zaha this summer. As reported by The Telegraph over the weekend, the Toffees have made a £55 million bid for the Ivory Coast international. 

However, the report also detailed some of the issues Everton might run into regarding the signature of the 26-year-old. 

First, and foremost, Palace are valuing Zaha at a figure closer to £80 million.

The other problem relates to Zaha’s previous exit from Palace, which saw him working with former Everton manager David Moyes. 

Zaha was Sir Alex Ferguson’s final signing as Old Trafford boss and the Scot had high hopes the youngster would be a star for years to come. 

However, Moyes took over and it became obvious fairly quickly that Zaha was not to Moyes’ taste. 

The player and manager struggled to build a relationship and, as Zaha detailed to the Daily Mail in April just how bad that spell under Moyes impacted him.

“But when he took me out of the Champions League squad and put in Adnan Januzaj, who had never played for the first team, I knew then that this is way bigger than I ever thought and had gone way beyond footballing reasons. 

“When it was not about football or ability, what could I do?” 

The Telegraph states that Zaha is ‘keen to remain’ in London. But with Chelsea under a transfer embargo, Arsenal about to sign Nicolas Pepe and no apparent interest from Tottenham, it is hard to see that happening if he does depart Selhurst Park.

Zaha is now a far more well-rounded player and individual and Everton will no doubt hope that his previous exertions up north do not put him off a similar move. 

But there is no doubt the impact of their former boss on the Ivorian star might make a Goodison Park transfer an even harder sell.