By Palace fan and online columnist Alisdair Kemp
SPECULATION about a sensational return to the club for Wilfried Zaha has been simmering for several months and this will only augment now that a seat at English football's top table has been reserved for another season.
However undeniably thrilling it would be to see the fleet-footed winger terrorising defences at Selhurst to a chorus of "He's just too good for you" once more, now is the time for pragmatism and rationality.
Any move for the precocious yet stuttering young attacker would likely be excessively expensive - be it in wages for a loan or a transfer fee for a permanent switch – and this is money that would surely be better diverted elsewhere.
As well as a left-back, a centre-back is an obvious priority to provide competition for an imperious but ageing rear-guard, while attracting the sort of striker that could genuinely take the team to the next level is bound to strain the owners' chequebooks.
With this in mind, lavishly committing sizeable funds towards a player whose services are far from vital to our development would be naïve and short-sighted.
The powers that be must not be swayed by sentimentality in their recruitment over the summer.
With Jason Puncheon providing a slightly different sort of attacking outlet and an ever-growing goal threat, there remains one spot in the eleven for a swift, tricky ball-carrier to play on the opposite flank.
In other words, in Tony Pulis' much-lauded system there is room for one edge-of-your-seat entertainer – and that simply has to be Yannick Bolasie.
The reality is that Bolasie now has a season of Premier League experience over Zaha, whose own appearances in the top division have been both sporadic and uneventful.
Bolasie's game has come on leaps and bounds – his performances made to seem all the more impressive given the injury that blighted his pre-season preparations. Zaha's meanwhile has at best stagnated with a lack of opportunities; and at worst regressed.
If you were to ask me to decide which of the two I would deem more reliable in the big matches, in terms of making efficient use of the little possession we have while also providing solidity, it would be Bolasie.
His greater physical stature, allied with superior positional discipline and general patience, render him a true asset defensively.
In our current system of sitting deep and narrow with sudden explosive counter-attacks, it is crucial that Pulis be able to rely on his players to demonstrate these qualities – traits that Zaha lamentably lacks.
In terms of going forward, Bolasie's decision-making has improved immensely and he rarely wastes possession without at least applying pressure to the opposition defence.
My concern with Zaha would be that his desperation to impress and right the wrongs of this season would lead to selfishness on the ball – not a Pulis player's trait.
This is not a criticism of Zaha's unequivocal ability. He has the potential to more than surpass Bolasie's current level but the chances of this potential being fulfilled diminish with each week that he sits on the sidelines.
We can ill-afford to take such chances financially.
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