Man United or a loan move? What is best for £15m Wilfried Zaha this season?

The first team that comes to mind are Crystal Palace, but that’s not a good idea. At Man United Zaha is going to be one of the star men if he develops properly, at Palace he would be the star man still. A relegation scrap in a team in which he has already proved what he can do won’t push him to improve. He needs to be somewhere new.

Everton would be an excellent place for him to go. Roberto Martinez has shown he can develop young players and if, as expected, he switches to a 433 at Everton, Zaha and Mirallas would be an excellent combination in the front three. He would have to earn his place and play well to keep it. It’s the kind of winning environment he could excel in.

Another great option would be West Brom. Last season they took Romelu Lukaku from raw talent to the fringe of the Chelsea first team. They play a rapid counter attacking style with true width which would suit Zaha’s skill set. Manager Steve Clarke pushes his players very hard and is an excellent coach.

The final attractive option is Stoke. Mark Hughes is revolutionising their style, and they are expected to play a more expansive and stylish brand of football. Stoke don’t have any attacking threat to speak of, so Zaha would be responsible for generating the kind of sparkle that they need.

Although there is a lot to be said for keeping Zaha at United; working with a manager like Moyes and senior pros like Giggs, Ferdinand, Van Persie etc, he is at an age where not playing regularly will stunt his career. Welbeck and Cleverley had successful loan spells at this age and came back ready for the first team.

Stoke, Everton or West Brom would be excellent places for Zaha to go on loan this season. All three have managers in the David Moyes mould. They push their players hard and expect them improve, so they wouldn’t stand for him grandstanding because he’s a United player, and all play a brand of football that will aid his development. They are the types of environments that push players to get better and if he takes advantage of the opportunity he could come back ready to be a megastar at Man United.