The ideal £17m summer signing that would suit Crystal Palace down to the ground

Wilfried Zaha’s departure from Crystal Palace will leave a hole that may be too deep to be fully filled – at least not by one player on their own. For the past nine seasons, since his return from that premature spell at Manchester United, Zaha has been the superstar who stayed, in spite of any number of rumours that he would depart for ‘bigger’ clubs. Year after year he was the club’s best player, and he became a part of the soul of Selhurst Park.

Now, he really is leaving at long last. His contract is up and quite a few of Europe’s biggest teams have been in touch with the Ivorian’s agent – not to mention Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, although Zaha has reportedly rejected a £30m annual salary to become a team-mate of Cristiano Ronaldo. That leaves Paris Saint-Germain as the apparent frontrunners but either way, Zaha has played his last game in south-west London.

Which leaves Palace with a problem, of course – how to replace him. A decision has yet to be made over whether Roy Hodgson will remain at the helm for a little longer, or whether it’s time for a change in the dugout as well – but whoever takes the helm, finding someone to patrol the left flank will be a priority. Whether Hodgson or a hypothetical new head coach would agree on the kind of player they want, of course, is another matter.

Palace are unlikely to have a massive transfer ‘war chest’ this summer. They will not be battling with the big boys for star signings – they’ll have to play the spendthrift and dredge through the bargain bins, at least by Premier League standards. The good news is that a very suitable replacement may not be too hard to find – or even be too many miles away. You could pop Ismaïla Sarr in a taxi.

Like Zaha, Sarr has been linked with moves away from Watford for years without his departure ever coming to pass. He’s now been relegated twice with the Hornets and surely won’t be settling for a second consecutive season in the Championship – especially given that his contract is up at the end of the coming campaign.

Sarr is more than just a round peg that would slot neatly into a round hole. Palace’s recent revival under Hodgson has been largely down to his willingness to let their talented direct runners like Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise off the leash – and Sarr’s own ball-carrying skills would fit the way they attack like a glove.

Of course, when Sarr has played in the Premier League, he hasn’t been able to match Zaha’s best years in terms of production. Sarr scored five goals in each of his top-tier campaigns to date – Zaha hit double digits three times. Even this year, when Zaha seemed to be on a slight downturn for parts of the season, especially when Patrick Vieira’s tenure was meandering to its conclusion, he scored seven and set up a couple more.

So, Sarr may not be able to replicate Zaha’s threat in front of goal – at least not all of it - but it’s fair to query whether they’d find another player within their budget who could, and Sarr should be good for a few goals a season as well as complementing their attacking plan more broadly.

As it stands, Watford are said to be holding out for a transfer fee of around £17m. That seems like a pretty fair price for what you’re getting – at 25, he probably has several good years ahead of him. By the cash-splashing standards of the modern Premier League, he’s something of a bargain at that price.

They’ll need to move quickly if they are keen, however – Bayer Leverkusen are also said to be interested in Sarr’s signature, and they can offer European football to any prospective newcomers, as well as an apparent upward curve after an impressive first season in charge from former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso. Aston Villa and West Ham United, likewise looking forward to European football in 2023/24, have also been mentioned, albeit slightly more tenuously as it stands.

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If Palace have a sniff of Sarr, they should surely move at least a few pieces of heaven and earth to make it happen. He fills the humongous hole Zaha will leave as neatly as possible, fits their style of attack – at least as it has been under Hodgson for the past few months – and is available at a reasonable cost, leaving some budgetary space free to find the other upgrades they need to press on with the good work done since Hodgson retook the reigns.