Wilfried Zaha was bought by Manchester United from Crystal Palace in January 2013 for a reported £10 million plus possible add-ons, before being loaned back to Palace for the remainder of the 2012/13 campaign. He had been very impressive for the South London club and this had made plenty of clubs interested in signing him.
The youngster was expected to bring excitement to the United wings with the incredible skill that he showed in the Championship, but after failing to make sufficient impact he was loaned to Cardiff after just two league appearances for the Red Devils. He made a further 10 league appearances for the Welsh club but could not prevent them from getting relegated.
I think that taking a player, especially as young as Zaha, from the Championship is a massive risk. The leagues are so different performance-wise that it is difficult to judge how good a player will be playing in the Premier League.
As he is a very young player, it might not have helped that he had to settle in a new place. As he was living in London, the move to new surroundings might have affected him psychologically. The fact that he was Palace’s standout player may also have been something that he thrived on, and so when he joined United he was not in the spotlight so much, reducing his responsibilities.
I think Wilfried Zaha has great potential, but the move to United may have damaged his career because it came too soon. He possibly should have played in the Premier League with Palace first to see how he got on before moving to such a prestigious club. I would like to see him get more playing time next season and it would be great to see him perform well at the highest level.