Wilfried Zaha says his aim for year 2 is more goals and more assists. What are the signs that he hits his targets?

By Brian Maurer

Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/TopBin90

In Wilfried Zaha's first press conference of 2026, he mentioned his main aim is to get more goals and more assists in year two. The aim with an increase in individual production is to help the team advance further in the playoffs and up the table. Nothing out of the ordinary here, with the goal for most players being more individual production and helping the team achieve better results.

I wanted to look back through Zaha's playing days and see if he had a history of making a year two jump in production after he familiarized himself with a league, coach, team play, etc. This piece aims to highlight patterns that could signal an increase in production from Zaha in 2026 after he finished with 15 goal contributions (10g/5a) last year.

Zaha's year two jump in the English Championship

Zaha's first full season with Crystal Palace was 2010/11, where he finished with five goal contributions (1g/4a). In year two, he doubled that level of production with 11 GCs (6g/5a) in the English Championship. One reason for this year two jump was likely coaching cohesion with Dougie Freedman. Freedman was a part of the Crystal Palace development team as a U21 coach for years before becoming the first team head coach during the 2011 season. He was the assistant manager before taking over for George Burley.

Fullback Jonathan Parr likely also played a role, as the Norwegian played fullback primarily on Zaha's strongest side of the field and ended up winning Crystal Palace's Player of the Year for his performance during that 2011/12 campaign. Parr has also been quoted as having a good relationship with Zaha. "Wilf was my roommate for a long time, and I was close with him; he was a fun guy!" Parr told Crystal Palace media last year.

Having players around him who were ready and capable of meeting the required level on the field, as well as being willing to build positive camaraderie off the field, likely played a major role in Zaha's year two jump.

The winger's early Premier League days

After helping Crystal Palace earn Premier League promotion, Zaha opted to make a big career jump by testing himself with Manchester United. The move never fully worked out, and after outgoing loans to Cardiff City and back to familiar ground at Palace, he ended up signing a new deal full-time back with the Eagles in February 2015.

His first full season back with Palace was 2015/16, where he finished with only two goals and one assist in Premier League matches. His second full season back with Palace in 2016/17 was his most productive Premier League season in his career with 16 goal contributions (7g/9a).

Crystal Palace, who had just earned promotion a couple of years prior, had to fight to stay consistently in the top tier of England, but you can still see an obvious production surge in Zaha's game as he stayed comfortable and consistently got minutes after moving around between other clubs like Manchester United and Cardiff City.

What factors play the biggest role in unlocking a year two jump for Zaha in Charlotte?

When looking back at Zaha's career, it appears there are a couple of patterns that stick out as to what can help support a big year two production surge with Charlotte FC in 2026. First is cohesion with teammates around him on and off the field. At left back, Harry Toffolo appeared to gain some quick understanding of how Zaha wants to play in the attack along the left and knew how to move and occupy space around the winger.

Off the field, it appears Toffolo has already built some strong camaraderie, as he mentioned how tight-knit the group is and was willing to make some jokes about his relationship with Zaha, a good early sign of positive chemistry.

Toffolo has had some really productive attacking seasons from a wingback role, especially during his days at Huddersfield Town. He had his most productive season in 2021/22, where he made 14 goal contributions (6g/8a). Forward Danny Ward had his most productive season during that campaign, and Toffolo will be looking to provide similar service to Charlotte's forward line in 2026.

Another reason for optimism in Zaha's year two is cohesion with the coaching staff. Dean Smith is entering his third season at the helm of the Crown, and looks to have spent some serious time working out how to set up his star winger for optimal success at an individual level, which ideally also improves the team as a whole.

In preseason, Zaha has been tasked with drifting more centrally to create opportunities for himself and teammates, while the left backs Toffolo and newly signed David Schnegg occupy the width with overlapping runs. This has put Zaha in more dangerous pockets of space and allows him to find teammates and shooting opportunities in and around the box.

It also protects him a bit, as he was the most fouled player in 2025. If Zaha stays more central and around the box when he is fouled, the consequences for defenses are far greater, as those fouls set up set pieces in dangerous areas where Charlotte should have direct shots on goal. If the consequences for fouling Zaha get raised, the number of times he gets taken down could decrease, or at the very least, Charlotte should reap more rewards for the trouble.

The final question about a year two jump is the contract situation. All the pieces on the field and within the team appear to be in place for the Ivory Coast international, but the contract past the summer will need to be negotiated, and those conversations are expected to start soon.