Former Crystal Palace boss George Burley has compared young striker Wilfried Zaha to Lionel Messi ahead of the Eagles’ clash with Manchester United in the Carling Cup quarter-final.
“Zaha is the type of lad people just bounce off when they try to tackle him – just, like Maradona and Messi,” he told a national newspaper.
“He’s such a naturally gifted footballer.
“He impressed me from day one at Palace and you could see he has the sort of talent you can’t teach and which no one else has.”
Burley has been very impressed by what he saw and thinks he will light up Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
“You watch him sometimes and think, ‘How did he do that?’ and with his ability to take players on, he is second to none.
“He can beat defenders without thinking about it and there are not many around like him at the moment.
“You just can’t coach what he’s got and, like the other youngsters I’ve had, he looks like developing into a top-class player,”