Chelsea interested in signing forward who has lost his last 12 games against Blues: Reports

Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha on a free transfer in the summer.

The Blues are keen to bolster their attack and view Zaha as a perfect fit, although he has been on the losing end in his last 12 consecutive appearances against the Blues. Zaha has faced Chelsea 19 times in his career and has recorded three wins and 16 losses.

As per a report in The Guardian, Chelsea have entered the race for Zaha's signature. Mauricio Pochettino, who is currently the favorite to become the next permanent manager at Stamford Bridge, is a big fan of the winger and tried to sign him at Tottenham.

The Palace winger will be a free agent in the summer, but has other clubs chasing him. Arsenal, PSG, Bayern Munich, AS Roma, and Marseille are said to be interested, while Al Nassr were also linked with a move.

However, Palace haven't yet given up hope of extending Zaha's contract. The Eagles have reportedly tabled a stunning four-year contract worth £200,000 per week.

Pundits gave mixed reactions to Zaha's links with top-six clubs

Wilfried Zaha has been linked with Chelsea for the past few windows, but a move has never materialized. The forward was touted to join the Blues last summer as well, and Paul Merson believed it was a good move for the forward.

Merson wrote in his Sportskeeda column in 2022:

"Wilfried Zaha has been linked with a move to Chelsea. It remains to be seen if he will secure a transfer before the deadline. I think a lot of people judged him based on his Manchester United stint and I think that's a bit unfair. The likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah didn't quite make the grade at Chelsea, but look at them now! Zaha has added goals to his game and will be a really good signing for Chelsea, in my opinion."

However, Paul Robinson was of the opinion that Zaha would struggle at a big club. He urged the forward to stay at Crystal Palace and told Football Insider in October 2022:

"You would be taking him for the sake of taking him. There was talk of him going to Arsenal, but with the form [Gabriel] Martinelli and [Bukayo] Saka are in, I'm not sure he would start. He will not want to go to a top-six club for the sake of it. He will want to play. Zaha is a high-quality player. The last thing he wants is to be a bit-part player."