Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage has ruled out a return for club legend Wilfried Zaha, despite the Ivorian training with the Eagles as he looks for a new club. Zaha, 33, left Palace in 2023 to play Champions League football with Galatasaray, scoring against Manchester United on his first start in the competition. After a loan spell at Lyon in 2024 and a subsequent move to Major League Soccer franchise Charlotte FC, he returned to Galatasaray this summer but was released upon the expiry of his contract.
Zaha training with Palace
Zaha has been training with the first-team squad at Copers Cope as he aims to earn a deal ahead of the new Premier League season. He hopes to impress Sage, who took over from Oliver Glasner after the Austrian's departure. However, Sage has played down the prospect of a reunion.
“I am happy to see he has this link with the club and fans but I don’t think that he will stay with us,” Sage said ahead of Palace’s opening-day trip to Everton.
Palace's summer business
Palace have been active in the transfer market, losing Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea. They have signed Oscar Mingueza and Takehiro Tomiyasu on free transfers, while Dwight McNeil has arrived from Everton in a swap deal that saw Brennan Johnson move to Merseyside. Young wing-backs Anan Khalaili and Zavier Gozo have joined from Union Saint-Gilloise and Real Salt Lake respectively, and Evann Guessand has renewed his loan from Aston Villa as Sage continues his rebuild.
