I have alway want to be here - Zaha finally arrives in his dream club.

 

I have alway want to be here - Zaha finally arrives in his dream club.

We 'signed' Wilfried Zaha for Chelsea this summer and he had amazing impact for Thomas Tuchel

Wilfred Zaha has been linked with a move to Chelsea as the Crystal Palace winger has just one year left on his contract

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BY LEWIS BARTON

08:30, 1 SEP 2022

We 'signed' Wilfred Zaha for Chelsea this summer with fantastic impact

We 'signed' Wilfred Zaha for Chelsea this summer with fantastic impact

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Reports have linked Crystal Palace's Wilfred Zaha with a move to Chelsea this summer, with Tuchel potentially looking for a new forward following the departure of Timo Werner.

Chelsea's transfer activity has picked up momentum in recent weeks, with Carney Chukwuemeka, Marc Cucurella and Gabriel Slonina joining Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly through the door. But, with Werner now confirmed to make a permanent return to RB Leipzig, the Blues could be tempted to delve into the transfer market for a new forward.

Chelsea's interest in Zaha is genuine, but a move for the Crystal Palace star before the transfer window closes is unlikely, football.london understands. The Ivory Coast international had been 'keen' on switching clubs this window with Palace themselves interested in signing Chelsea's Conor Gallagher on a permanent deal following his fine loan spell last season.

READ MORE: Frenkie de Jong makes Chelsea transfer confession to Barcelona dressing room as Man United lurk

So, if Zaha was to leave Palace for the second time in his career and make the move to Chelsea, how could he perform? We simulated the Blues' 2022/23 season with Zaha in the squad to see what sort of impact he could have on Tuchel's side.

We 'signed' Wilfried Zaha for Chelsea next season

For this simulation to happen, we used the in-game editor for Football Manager 2022 to transfer Zaha from Palace to Chelsea. We also updated the Blues squad with all the latest changes whilst updating the Premier League with the latest results.

Wilfred Zaha's stats from the 2022/23 season with Chelsea

Wilfred Zaha's stats from the 2022/23 season with Chelsea(Image: Football Manager 2022)

With Sterling also signing in the same transfer window, competition was tight for Zaha, meaning the winger was used more as a rotation player rather than being a guaranteed starter. In his first season with the Blues, the 29-year-old made 31 appearances, with 27 of them starts.

In those 31 games, the winger had a fantastic return scoring 14 goals and assisting six. His best performances came in the Champions League, with Zaha grabbing five goals and two assists in seven appearances.

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