Wilfried Zaha to Aston Villa transfer verdict shared as £9m-a-season Crystal Palace speculation emerges

We’re delighted to welcome former Aston Villa full-back Alan Hutton as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Villa Park…

Alan Hutton believes Wilfried Zaha would be a game-changing signing for Aston Villa if they were to land the Crystal Palace forward in the summer.

Zaha, 30, is out of contract at the end of this season, leading to speculation linking him with a move to Villa Park.

The ex-Manchester United forward was loosely linked with Villa ahead of the January transfer window [BirminghamLive] while Stan Collymore has recently told the Sunday People that he'd be better off joining "an Aston Villa" instead of heading to the Middle East.

On 13 March, the Daily Mail reported that Zaha has been offered a £9million-a-year contract by Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad to quit Crystal Palace.

But Hutton agrees with Collymore that the Ivory Coast international would offer plenty by staying in the Premier League and joining a club like the Villans.

"Zaha definitely brings something that's a little bit different," Hutton told Villa News.

"He's been in the Premier League for a long time now, he's got good numbers and he played at a big club in Manchester United.

"It didn't work out there but would he add something [at Aston Villa]? Yes, I do.

"He's 30 years old so there's still a lot of football left in him.

"He'd add a lot of quality, he can change games.

"If something like that was to come up, I think it would be a good option."

Zaha has played 23 times in the Premier League this season for Palace, scoring six goals and supplying two assists.

However, he hasn't directly contributed to a goal since 6 November with Palace now in a relegation battle due to a winless run that's lasted 12 games.

In other Aston Villa news, players could now be fighting for their futures at Villa Park with a mid-table finish all but secured.