Zaha became one of the hottest young players in Europe in 2012 as he was tracked by the top clubs in England after impressing for Crystal Palace, before signing for Manchester United.

Zaha was born in the Ivory Coast but moved to England with his family of nine brothers at an early age and made his bow into the Palace academy at 15.

Progressing through the ranks, he made his debut as a sub in March 2010 courtesy of then-caretaker manager Paul Hart. Unexpectedly promoted to the first team under new manager George Burley, he scored against Leicester on the opening day of the 2010-11 season and continued to impress.

The year of 2011 saw the winger called up to the England Under-19 setup and it was not long before he claimed Under-21 honours as well and earned his first cap for the senior squad for a friendly match against Sweden on November 14, 2012. (He can still choose to play for the Ivory Coast as he has not yet played a competitive match for England.)

Manchester United, though, stole a march on their rivals as they snapped up Zaha for an initial fee of £10 million in the January 2013 transfer window.

Strengths: Pace and skill, his ability to run at defenders and create chances is excellent.

Weaknesses: Defensively he can be found wanting and still needs to develop the mental side of his game.

Career high: Six goals in 41 appearances in 2011-12 saw Zaha jump into the public conscience.

Career low: A season of frustration in 2010-11 saw him make only one appearance for the first team.

Style: Quick, tricky, creative, a young talent with the world at his feet.

Quote: "He is so unique. He is an untouched, pure talent. I've never worked with anyone like him - he just wants to get the ball and beat people, However many there are, he can do it... Good gracious me, it is quite unbelievable what he can do, and hopefully, a lot of fans around the country will see him still progress because it is so pure. You just want to give him the ball. I find myself willing my other players to give it to him because the more he has it, the better my team does." Crystal Palace manager Ian Holloway on Zaha, 2012.

Trivia: At the end of the 2011-12 season, Zaha was voted the Football League's Young Player of the Year and Crystal Palace awarded him their Young Player of the Year for a second year in a row.