3 stars Crystal Palace could spend the Wilfried Zaha money on this summer

James McCarthy

While a direct replacement for Zaha would be beneficial, they arguably have a few in their ranks anyway in the form of Andros Townsend, Jeffrey Schlupp, and Jason Puncheon.

Thus, a central midfielder could be top of Allardyce’s list come the summer, and one man they should look at is Everton’s James McCarthy, who has started just seven times in the Premier League under Ronald Koeman this term.

The Republic of Ireland international was linked with a move away from Goodison Park earlier in the season, and with the arrival of Morgan Schneiderlin, as well as the return from international duty of Idrissa Gueye, it’s difficult to see him getting regular football on Merseyside.

Thus, Palace could be the ideal destination for McCarthy to get regular minutes, as well as keeping him in contention for the Ireland national team.