The Wilfried Zaha to Borussia Dortmund rumour simply does not add up

It’s the summer transfer window which means Wilfried Zaha wants to leave Crystal Palace and once again Borussia Dortmund are being linked with a move for the forward.

Borussia Dortmund have been vaguely linked with a move for Zaha in each of the last four transfer windows. While the links made more sense in the past, as the Black and Yellows were looking to replace Christian Pulisic. But the move didn’t happen then, and there’s no way its happening now.

Dortmund are stockpiled in the attacking department but continue to be linked with Wilfried Zaha, who is once again angling for a move away from Selhurst Park. This news has gotten Manchester United fans excited, however, that should be short-lived with a quick insight into how this transfer would not make any sense for Dortmund whatsoever.

Borussia Dortmund do not have an endless amount of money and have repeatedly said that they will not be spending transfer fees on another player this summer. No matter what amount Palace want for him, it is probably something Dortmund can’t afford to pay. Not that they need to anyways.

They could not afford to pay 40 million euros to sign Achraf Hakimi, who instead joined Inter Milan. Dortmund opted for the free transfer of Thomas Meunier from Paris Saint Germain to slot in at right-back. The BVB bosses have also splashed out close to €50 million already this summer on Emre Can, making the German international’s loan move from Juventus permanent, as well as the high profile signing of Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City.

Bellingham turned down serious interest from Manchester United in favour of a move to the Bundesliga after leaving his boyhood club Birmingham City.

Therefore, the fact Sky Sports are linking Dortmund with a move for Zaha during a global pandemic which would see Dortmund’s spending surpass €100 million, which is just ludicrous and simply has zero basis. And that is before considering the fact that Zaha would demand wages on par with some of the club’s best players.

Also worth mentioning is the almost €140 million Borussia Dortmund spent last summer on players such as Mats Hummels, Nico Schulz, Thorgan Hazard and Julian Brandt.

However, it is not just the money factor but the footballing side as well. Lucien Favre already has Jadon Sancho, Thorgan Hazard, Julian Brandt, Marco Reus, Giovanni Reyna, and also looks set to land Renier Jesus on loan from Real Madrid. He also has Erling Haaland and Youssoufa Moukoko up front. So even if they had the money to sign him, they simply do not need Zaha at the moment.

Sky also say Borussia Dortmund are interested in signing Zaha due to the uncertainty over the future of Jadon Sancho. However, Sancho’s future is not uncertain. He is staying at Borussia Dortmund, as has been made very clear by the BVB bosses over the last seven days.

So why would Dortmund and Favre want yet another attacking player that will hit the club very hard financially after such a difficult time for the whole of sport anyway? Sancho scored 17 goals and registered 16 assists in the Bundesliga last season, Reus got 11 goals and five assists. In comparison, Zaha managed four goals and three assists in 38 games. This works out at 0.07 goals per game. The Ivory Coast international wouldn’t be a regular starter with the Black and Yellows anyways.

There is very little that Zaha could bring to this Dortmund side to warrant paying what Crystal Palace are demanding for him. This rumour simply has no basis, and looks like a lazy attempt by Sky to keep the Sancho saga alive for the gullible Manchester United fans.