Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira compared Wilfried Zaha to Southampton hero Matt Le Tissier after the winger netted a late winner against the Saints at the weekend.
The Ivorian forward was on hand to fire home the winning strike at St Mary’s on Saturday, his effort from outside of the area finding the bottom corner after Eberechi Eze had cancelled out Oriol Romeu’s opener.
It took Zaha onto 13 goals for the campaign in all competitions - the best goalscoring campaign of his career thus far. Vieira - a member of the Premier League Hall of Fame - has expressed his desire to be joined by the Palace forward, whilst also suggesting that he, like Le Tissier, does not get the credit he deserves for his displays.
Speaking after Palace’s 2-1 win on the South Coast, the Frenchman said: “Wilfried is a little bit like Matt Le Tissier I would say. When you play at Palace, at Southampton, you may not get the credit that you deserve if you're not playing in one of the top four, top five teams.
“Hopefully they will get to the Hall Of Fame because what they did for Crystal Palace and [Southampton] you can’t take that away.
"Wilfried since he has been in this football club has been an important player, has got a special talent, delivering every year that's why I think it's important for people to recognise his talent.”
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Vieira continued: “It's a different way of looking at quality, talented players" he insisted. "Wilfried Zaha and Matt Le Tissier, they deserve a lot of credit for what they achieved for their respective football clubs.”
Whilst Zaha is in the midst of arguably his most impressive, his side Palace could also be on track to secure their best-ever Premier League finish. With four matches of the campaign remaining, the Eagles currently sit 12th on 41 points.
Palace have only ever finished in the top ten once in their history - their 48-point haul during the 2014/15 season ensuring them of that. With games coming up against Aston Villa, Watford and Everton, they have a real chance to secure a club record points haul.
However, Vieira has suggested that he is unconcerned by league positions but instead the performance levels of his side. Speaking before the game on the south coast, he said: “We didn’t, and we’re still not going to have these kinds of targets in our minds. We always concentrate on the proceeds of winning football matches and try to play as best as we can.
“Of course, there are games remaining, and we have to finish in the best way possible. That means performing well and trying to perform at our best. Then the way we will perform will decide the result.”
