Charlotte FC signs star winger Wilfried Zaha: "He's now hungry, more hungry than I've ever seen any other player coming to Charlotte" - Zoran Krneta
By Sam Vanolinda
*Quotes lightly edited for clarity*
Wilfried Zaha is officially a Charlotte FC player. The Crown’s new star is training with the club and pending a visa should be ready to go at the start of the 2025 season. His contract is a loan deal from Turkish club Galatasaray for the 2025 season with an option to continue through the summer of 2026.
“The opportunity arose,” Zaha said when asked about ending up with Charlotte FC. “I just thought, why not? Those conversations started to speed up, and here I am.”
Zaha mentioned he had conversations with Dean Smith after playing against him many times, who he called “Very down to Earth,” as well as his former teammate and 2024 MLS Golden Boot winner Christian Benteke, who said the league was competitive and the life was enjoyable.
Zaha had an incredible run with Crystal Palace, but his move to Turkey and time in France were not as smooth as he may have expected. With that being said, he is ready to get back to his best in Charlotte.
“I’m very motivated; I just need to get back on the pitch,” Zaha said, “I know what I can do because the reality is I don’t look elsewhere for confidence; I look for confidence in myself. I’ve gone through a difficult period, but those things have helped me become who I am now… Once I get the opportunity to get back on the field I want to show what I can do to everyone.”
Zaha mentioned how much love and support he had in South London with Crystal Palace and how quickly things could change with other clubs.
“I’ve gone from having a mural at Crystal Palace to not playing at all in [Galatasaray], and then not playing in Lyon… I don’t let it break me mentally because I know the player I am. The love I’ve had from me being here for a couple of days from the players and staff, it makes me feel like this is a better journey for me.”
When he does get onto that field, ideally on opening day in Seattle, expect to see Zaha on the left. “I am a left-winger; that is the mindset; that’s where Dean sees me playing, that’s where I’m best, that’s the plan really,” states the star attacker.
Smith mentioned over the offseason about needing a player who is a difference maker, especially for a lower-possession, defensive-minded team like Charlotte FC. Zaha had this to say when asked about his potential in that role:
“From him seeing me play at Palace, it takes one break to score a goal, and that changes the whole game; I’ve done that numerous times playing against teams where you’re defensive and you’re compact, and then you manage to break away, counter attack, and score, those are things we spoke about and those are things I can do, so I hope I can be that missing piece.”
Playing with a very defensive team, Crystal Palace, for all those years, Zaha developed into one of the best counter-attacking players in the Premier League, so seeing him in that role will be exciting for Charlotte fans.
Many may be questioning how long Zaha may stay at Charlotte FC, considering he was signed on an 18-month loan; the Ivory Coast international had this to say about coming back and potentially staying longer:
“Yeah, definitely, the plan wasn’t to hop from different cities like I have; I like to be in one place, especially for my kids… Hopefully, it goes well, and I don’t see a reason why it can't go longer.”
General Manager Zoran Krneta expressed excitement about Zaha’s attitude, personality, and talent, and thinks he can be a real difference maker to improve the outcomes of Charlotte’s 2025 season.
“All he cares about is to play,” Krneta said, “and he’s now hungry, more hungry than I've ever seen any other players coming to Charlotte.”
The deal was different from usual because of the level of player that Zaha is and the situation he was in:
“In my 20-something years in professional soccer, this is probably one of the most difficult negotiations I have done. It was a complex deal,” said Krneta.
Krneta went on to talk about how the negotiations started three months ago. First, they had to convince Zaha that Charlotte was a good move for him, then Charlotte's GM had to negotiate with the two clubs Zaha was under contract with, Lyon and Galatasaray, and finally, the aforementioned clubs had to agree to cancel the contract between each other, so the winger could be loaned to the Crown. Until Zaha landed in the Carolinas, Krneta wasn’t sure he was going to pull it off.
With that said, Zaha is now dawning the black and blue, and Krneta is overjoyed about the type of player the team has signed. As mentioned earlier, Smith was looking for a difference maker, and Krneta thinks they have found one in Zaha:
“We just needed a difference maker.” Krneta said, “We needed as Dean would call ‘Gold Dust’, someone who makes something out of nothing.”
Krneta added that the team already had good technique with Liel Abada and Kerwin Vargas, but Zaha offers a different type of winger: physicality, pace, and power.
With the addition of a star player, the expectations for the team begin to expand, and Krneta wants to aim for silverware with the firepower they have added:
“The next level is the trophies, I think we are ready now to go for the trophies…Leagues Cup, US Open Cup, Supporters’ Shield, MLS Cup, and potentially Champions Cup once we get into that competition…So potentially five trophies over the next two years that we are trying to win, and we’ll start this year.”
