Alan Pardew says Wilfried Zaha is still smarting from being flushed out of Manchester United but could reignite his career at Selhurst Park, if he alters his attitude, and eventually earn another transfer to Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson made Zaha his final signing as Manchester United manager when he paid £15m for him in 2013. But the winger was immediately loaned back to Crystal Palace and did not move to Old Trafford until the following summer, by which time Ferguson had been replaced by David Moyes.

Zaha never gained the trust of the new manager, under whom he made only two substitute appearances in the Premier League. He was lent out to Cardiff City and then back to Palace last summer before rejoining the club on a permanent basis in January for less than half what United had paid for him. He was, according to Pardew, “damaged goods”.

On Saturday Zaha scored his first goal since rejoining Palace permanently to help his side to a comfortable victory over Queens Park Rangers that eased the club’s relegation worries. Pardew said this was an important step in Zaha’s recovery but called on the 22-year-old to banish his blues.

“There are two things with him,” said Pardew. “Firstly I don’t see him smiling enough and secondly he takes everything like a massive disappointment. That’s a player who has been damaged. What I mean by that is if he doesn’t get a pass, he can have a little sulk – not for long, just for a couple of seconds, but that’s enough in the Premier League for something to happen. And he does it in training too. I’m saying this publicly because I think it’s important that he understands he needs to get rid of it.

“I think the Manchester United thing came too early for a young player who, let’s be honest, didn’t get enough of an opportunity there. He needs to get rid of it now and move on and build his career again. There’s no reason, in my opinion, why at his age he can’t get back to Manchester United again as a seasoned player who knows how to deal with the situation better.”

Pardew says Zaha must do what every self-help book advises and turn a negative experience into a beneficial one.

“We’ve all been hurt in our careers,” said Pardew. “I’ve had the sack on two occasions – you get hurt and you’ve got to remould yourself and become better from a disappointment. You can find a million books on psychology and stuff by businessmen such as Richard Branson and all those sort of books that say setbacks need not be a bad thing. But I saw Wilf’s interview on TV after the game and he looked happy, so he’s getting there.”

Zaha won two England caps in 2012 and, unlike most Premier League managers, Pardew intends to lobby for his player to compete in this summer’s European Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic so that he can help restore both his own reputation and that of English football. “I know [England U21 manager] Gareth Southgate very well and I’ll speak to him,” said Pardew.

“I think Gareth would probably like somebody in the squad who has the kind of ability that Wilf does. But he’s got to do it between now and the end of the year and push for a place in that squad, that should be a goal for him.

"I would love Wilf to be on that trip because that’s a big tournament for us, particularly after the Champions League results this year. And England didn’t do well in the World Cup so I think Gareth should have the best players available and I’m hoping Wilf is one of them. But Gareth’s choice won’t be determined by a phone call from me, he is his own man.”

QPR also need to recover fast. They have nine matches to save themselves from relegation and they will not do it by playing the way they did at Selhurst Park. Matt Phillips scored an astonishing late goal for them from more than 40 yards but they were already beaten by that stage because of first-half strikes by Zaha, James McArthur and Joel Ward. “The club’s got a shadow over it,” said the Rangers head coach, Chris Ramsey. “It happens in this sort of situation. But I need to stay as strong and positive as I can.”

Man of the match Yannick Bolasie (Crystal Palace)