Chelsea: Wilfried Zaha is only purchase worth the effort in final week

Chelsea can end the transfer market on a high note by doing absolutely nothing this week. Other than the Willian – Anthony Martial swap, the only way they can do better is buying Wilfried Zaha.

Say what you want about Rob Green. He was free and he counts as homegrown. If he is the dodgiest transfer Chelsea make this summer, the club should be quite proud of themselves. Any negative consequences from his signing require a series of dominoes to fall around Thibaut Courtois’ contract negotiations, leading to a situation where the Blues cannot shed Courtois but cannot keep Marcin Bulka, and therefore have to choose between Willy Caballero and an even whingier than baseline Belgian.

But we cannot hold Chelsea’s board accountable to consider such multi-layered contingencies. They scarcely have time for such game theory, unlike freelance sports writers.

In the remaining days of the window, Wilfried Zaha is the only transfer target worth pursuing for a purchase. That caveat is necessary because Anthony Martial would be worthwhile, but he would be part of a swap deal for Willian and not a straightforward transfer.

Zaha has the technical ability, pace, exuberance and youth Chelsea are lacking among their wingers. At age 25 he is entering his prime years as a winger, a crucial gap in the Blues’ forward ranks. While Eden Hazard peaks, Pedro and Willian decline, and Callum Hudson-Odoi hatches, Zaha has the physical and mental readiness to deliver on 45 games a season. The workload Zaha and Hazard can handle would grind down their teammates on the elder end of the age scale, and risk breaking their teenaged partner.

Zaha would be a good fit for the supposedly kinder, gentler, warmer, happier style of play and overall outlook Maurizio Sarri brings to his teams. Wilfried Zaha is a joy to watch because he takes so much joy out of playing. Zaha would be like Michy Batshuayi, minus the Twitter feed, in terms of the personality and spirit he brings to the pitch. Even without Antonio Conte, Chelsea has its share of morose mopers, and Zaha could help turn that around.

Maurizio Sarri’s style of football would keep the smile on Zaha’s face. Zaha has the foot speed over ground and on the ball that would make him a major threat in the expanses Sarri-ball creates. As comfortable on the left as on the right, he and Eden Hazard could switch positions throughout the game, creating a defensive nightmare for the opponents.

His ability on either side along with his physical qualities would also serve him well in Sarri’s press. He can press high and deep upon Chelsea turning over the ball, harrying the opponent in a Pedro-like fashion (but more purposeful, of course). Pressing remains one of Eden Hazard’s comparatively weaker areas, so Zaha could absorb some of Hazard’s pressing responsibilities. This gives Sarri more options for how he directs his forward line in the press and in transition, while alleviating some of the ancillary duties on Hazard to press or drop back into the midfield line. Zaha can be the balancing point between Sarri’s expectations for his wingers on the press and the situations and responsibilities that best suit Hazard.

Finally, Zaha is a homegrown player for the Premier League. He came up through Crystal Palace’s academy and has spent his entire professional career in England. Chelsea would not need to clear out a non-homegrown player to make room for Zaha, as they would for nearly anyone else on their transfer screen.

Such as Anthony Martial. The swap deal is as much about Chelsea’s allotment of non-homegrown players as it is satisfying Manchester United.

Chelsea’s only remaining need in the transfer window is a winger. But even if they do not sign a winger, they are still in a good place. Callum Hudson-Odoi is well ahead of schedule and Victor Moses is still in the mix. Maurizio Sarri has a pretty high burden of proof to justify his statements about how Chelsea still need another midfielder. Whatever it is he is looking for may not exist in the footballing world, or at least not in the transfer market.

Zaha is a long shot, to say the least. The only reports of his desire for a transfer started in the Mirror, and Roy Hodgson thoroughly rubbished rumours of Zaha’s unhappiness. Crystal Palace will fight with whatever resources they have to keep him. Unless Zaha is thoroughly unsatisfied playing for a team whose ceiling is the middle of the table, or simply his wages, he does not have much reason to leave.

Chelsea should sit on their hands this week unless Wilfried Zaha or Anthony Martial are within reach. Anyone else is more likely to be a Papy Djlibodji than a Marcos Alonso.