According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United forward Wilfried Zaha hopes to return to the first team next season and make a positive impression on new manager, Louis Van Gaal.
Zaha endured a very disappointing last season at both United and Cardiff City. Sir Alex Ferguson bought the Englishman for £15 million from Crystal Palace in January 2013, which turned out to be his last signing before retiring as manager.
Last season, it appeared that Zaha and then manager, David Moyes, failed to see eye to eye. The main reason for that being his below-par showing in training. As a result, first team appearances were hard to come by for the winger as he did not start in a Premier League game under Moyes. This came to the frustration of the fans as much as the player because of the disappointing performances of Nani, Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young.
Zaha moved to Cardiff on loan in January. Many expected this to be the chance for him to prove himself in the Premier League and help the Welsh team to stay in the division. Unfortunately, he still failed to meet expectations. He scored no goals and provided just one assist in 13 games (including 5 starts).
With Louis Van Gaal as manager and Ryan Giggs as his assistant, there could be a second chance for the forward. Both Van Gaal and Giggs are fans of giving youth an opportunity in the first team and there is no doubt Zaha’s pace and trickery could be appealing to them. However, due to the underwhelming performances of United’s wingers, it is thought that they are looking for a new wide-man. The likes of Memphis Depay and Alexis Sanchez have been linked. If one is brought in, it is likely that Zaha’s second season will not be much better than his first.
He will hope that is not the case and he can finally show Manchester United and the fans why Ferguson paid the money for him.
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