WILFRIED ZAHA has drawn the bottom line under his Old Trafford career, with Sir Alex Ferguson’s last dabble in the transfer market costing Manchester United an amazing £400,000 a minute.
The initial fee of £10million paid by Ferguson, right, in January 2013 is unlikely to have risen much towards a potential £15m – perhaps a £1m increment for his England cap.
But the decision yesterday to turn his loan move back to Crystal Palace into a reported £3m permanent transfer has left the Glazer family counting the cost of an £8m market loss.
United subsidised his £35,000-a-week salary during loan spells at both Palace and Cardiff, meaning the club have paid him about £3m in wages during the two years he was technically their player.
That £11m total spend resulted in two substitute appearances for United in the Premier League against Newcastle and Aston Villa – 28 minutes of action in total.