Manchester United to win Zaha race with loan option

Manchester United could be set to beat their Premier League rivals to the signing of England starlet Wilfried Zaha by agreeing to a loan clause.

According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are two of the sides monitoring the Crystal Palace winger’s situation, but could be beaten the £10million-rated man by Sir Alex Ferguson due to an option to loan him back.

Palace are flying high in the Championship and will not want to lose one of their best players in the middle of a season where there is a real chance of promotion to the Premier League.

According to the report, the Old Trafford club are prepared to pay the fee for Zaha and allow Palace to take him on loan for the remainder of the season.

Arsenal are struggling for consistency at the moment and have been linked with a bid in January, but they would likely want Zaha’s attacking talents as soon as possible to help rectify their attacking concerns.

Spurs already have dangerous wide options in Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, but speculation over the Welshman’s long-term future and a lack of real depth could prompt a bid form White Hart Lane manager Andre Villas-Boas.