Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Man United must accept part in Zaha slump, says Crystal Palace chief

Manchester United have to shoulder some of the blame for Wilfried Zaha's failure at Old Trafford, according to Crystal Palace co-chairman Steve Parish.

Zaha, 22, initially returned to Selhurst Park on loan which became a permanent deal, as United made a loss of £12 million on a player who never made a league start for them.

Zaha was Sir Alex Ferguson's final signing when United agreed to pay £15 million for him in 2013, but arrived at Old Trafford under the Scot's retirement.

He struggled to get in David Moyes' side and was loaned out to Cardiff last season and then Palace this before Louis van Gaal authorised his sale but Parish believes Zaha should not shoulder all the responsibility for his troubles at Old Trafford.

"It did not work for him [Zaha] up there and we came to a good arrangement with Manchester United," Parish told reporters. "He's a great lad, and I would not say it has damaged him, but that experience of him going there and it not working out set him back a little bit.

"I don't know what happened up there, but it is certainly not all one-sided.

"There was a change of management just as he went there, Sir Alex bought him and he was not there when he arrived.

"There's been a bit of a maelstrom there over the past couple of years with the transition of the squad they had and Wilf got caught up in that a bit. There was no malice [from United] and they think he is a good player."

Zaha faced plenty of competition for places on the wings at Old Trafford last season in a squad including Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Nani, Shinji Kagawa, Ryan Giggs and Danny Welbeck, even before Moyes signed Juan Mata and then Van Gaal brought in Angel Di Maria, both for club-record fees.

But the 22-year-old has been in fine form since his return to Selhurst Park was ratified and has helped them win their last four games to ensure they will avoid relegation.

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