Frustrated Wilfried Zaha eyes loan move

Manchester: Wilfried Zaha will seek a loan move in January after failing to make a competitive appearance for Manchester United since his £12 million (Dh70.47 million) summer arrival from Crystal Palace.

The twice-capped England international, who is in Gareth Southgate’s Under-21 squad to face Lithuania on Tuesday, is understood to be the subject of interest from at least five Premier League clubs. Newcastle United, West Ham and Fulham could offer Zaha a loan move in January until the end of the season. Speculation linking the player with a move to the Championship with Bolton — managed by former Palace boss Dougie Freedman — has been ruled out.

Although Zaha, 20, started the Community Shield win against Wigan Athletic at Wembley in August, the 61 minutes he played in the pre-season curtain-raiser remains the sum total of his contribution to David Moyes’ team.

Moyes has insisted that the winger will be given an chance to press his claims for a place in the first team, with the Capital One Cup fourth-round tie against Norwich City on October 29 expected to see him make his full debut for the club.

“I want Wilf to get used to what happens here,” Moyes said. “He is getting better, which we are pleased about.”

Moyes’ concerns over Zaha’s inexperience and propensity to lose the ball in dangerous areas are understood to be at the heart of his reluctance to date to use him in the United first team, with the emergence of Belgian teenager Adnan Januzaj also contributing to Zaha’s struggle.

The player has grown frustrated by his lack of opportunities, and while he remains determined to make a success of his career at United, he regards a loan move in January as a necessity simply to play first-team football.

— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2013