Steve Cooper could see his move for attacking target Wilfried Zaha scuppered as Leicester City look to add firepower before the end of the transfer window.
Currently, Steve Cooper will be going into Leicester City‘s Premier League opener against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday with Tom Cannon as his only available striker.
Injuries to Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka have left Leicester incredibly light up front and, with 21-year-old Cannon not expected to be trusted by Cooper, they are in turmoil ahead of the season starting.
That had seen the club make a bid for Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis, but Bayer Leverkusen striker Adam Hlozek now looks set to join imminently instead.
This will be a very welcome arrival for Cooper, but he could now miss out on another of his attacking targets with a move for Wilfried Zaha hitting a stumbling block.
Leicester City move for Wilfried Zaha could fall through for tax reasons
Zaha was constantly linked with a move away from Crystal Palace during his eight-year second stint at the club due to him being consistently one of the Premier League’s best performers outside the ‘Big Six’.
A move finally materialised as the winger signed for Galatasary last summer at the end of his Palace contract in a bid to play Champions League football.
Zaha had a respectable if unremarkable return of ten goals and five assists in 42 games in all competitions for Galatasary last season, but started just 13 league games.
Given his obvious ability, Leicester have been eyeing up a deal for the 31-year-old this summer, with a £7 million loan fee reportedly enough to seal Zaha’s arrival.
However, the player has now returned to Galatasary as an obstacle has threatened to derail the move altogether.
That is according to The Athletic, who report that Zaha has ‘returned to Galatasary training in the absence of a deal to leave the club’.
The report goes on to explain that ‘Zaha’s potential return to the Premier League is in jeopardy because of the tax implications associated with a move back from Turkey’.
Leicester must find solution to complete Zaha deal
This is a complicate hurdle that could prove fatal in Leicester’s efforts to sign Zaha, but the club must find a way to conclude a move.
Whilst a £7 million loan fee is high, the arrangement would see Galatasary pay Zaha’s wages which means the deal makes sense.
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Zaha has shown time and time again across his time at Palace that he thrives when being the main man and can flourish in a side battling at the bottom end of the table.
The fact he can play wide or as a striker also makes the Ivory Coast international an attractive prospect and Cooper should convince the Leicester hierarchy to do all they can to save this deal from passing them by.