Wilfried Zaha has struggled in his first six months as a Manchester United player and will look to get back on track during his loan spell with Cardiff (Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty)

After completing a medical at Cardiff City, Wilfried Zaha will join up with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on loan until the end of the current campaign – and while it may not be the most exciting piece of transfer news involving Manchester United at the moment, it is certainly significant.

Zaha has struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford following his excellent pre-season and, much to the frustration of supporters, it seems as if the former Crystal Palace forward has barely been given a chance, bar a handful of substitute appearances.

Nobody knows better than David Moyes, who sees Zaha training every day, and as supporters we must trust that judgement – but it is certainly better for all parties that Zaha be loaned out now to get first-team football before he begins to resent his situation.



First of all Zaha will play. Cardiff aren’t blessed with great talent on the wings with Craig Bellamy on the bench for most matches and Zaha could quite easily play on either flank along with Craig Noone, who is enjoying an excellent campaign.


Getting Premier League experience is the most important aspect of this deal, we have all seen what Zaha can do in the Championship and, in his fleeting moments at United, and he really could give Cardiff a raw attacking boost in their fight against relegation.

Zaha has found first-team football fleeting at Old Trafford but has shown in the past he has all the attributes to be an exciting player for United in the future (Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty)

Furthermore Zaha is going to be working with a manager who Manchester United can trust. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is held in high regard at Old Trafford in coaching terms after his excellent work with the United reserve team following his retirement and he knows how to handle young players.

That’s something United will have definitely taken into account prior to accepting a loan offer from a club. Solskjaer will not try to mould Zaha to fit a system, and you could not say the same for Tony Pulis.

Had Zaha returned to Crystal Palace, he may well have been asked to play as a defensive winger or possibly a lone forward, which wouldn’t have done anybody any favours.

Zaha is going to a strong club with a good manager who will utilise him effectively and if he performs well, he will come back and get his chance

Solskjaer will let Zaha flourish in his best position, having been known at Molde as a manager who enjoys a positive attacking style of football and has suggested he would look to bring that to Cardiff.

Zaha will be given the freedom just to play football the way he knows how, going forward and attacking full-backs without the pressure of trying to break into David Moyes’ Manchester United first team while the club are in a difficult period.

There has been a lot of off-field speculation surrounding Zaha and this has only intensified as the former Palace man has struggled to break into the team.

A loan move to Cardiff will remove all these pressures and allow him to concentrate on his football. Zaha is going to a strong club with a good manager who will utilise him effectively and if he performs well, he will come back and get his chance.

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