Manchester United Must Loan out Wilfried Zaha to Gain Premier League Experience

To stay or to go—David Moyes has got a decision to make over Wilfried Zaha.

The Manchester United manager must weigh the needs of the team against the needs of the player before deciding whether to let the 20-year-old leave on loan.

He has to measure short-term needs against long-term gain.

The only sure thing is that Zaha needs to be playing games.

The Premier League has tried to revamp youth football in England with the introduction of a new under-21 competition last season.

But the standard isn't good enough to test a player of Zaha's ability. 

He's already a full England international and would be playing in the Premier League every week if he hadn't been prised away from Selhurst Park in January.

It's clear that something has to change before Zaha gets his chance at United.

He stood out during the pre-season tour and against Wigan in the Community Shield at Wembley.

But he hasn't played a minute of competitive football since. He was even left on the bench for the Capital One Cup tie with Liverpool, usually a competition United use to blood youngsters.

Moyes has said he wants to keep Zaha in the squad, but he's already behind Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Nani, Danny Welbeck, Shinji Kagawa and Adnan Januzaj in the pecking order.

Ask any player, and they'll tell you there isn't anything more demoralising than training all week with little prospect of playing at the weekend.

It can lead to a loss of focus and coasting through sessions. 

For a player still a month shy of his 21st birthday, that's the last thing Zaha needs.

United fans would love to see him racing up and down the wing in a red shirt, especially given Young's loss of form. 

But playing once a month isn't going to help his development.

Moyes has used the loan market well before. 

At Everton, he sent Seamus Coleman to Blackpool and lent Ross Barkley to Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday.

He could use it to his advantage again with Zaha, providing he picks the right club.

But that's much more delicate than waving a player off with directions in his pocket and clean boxers in his suitcase.

Just ask Fabio, who spent more time on the bench than in the team at QPR last season or Michael Keane, who gained valuable experience as a regular starter in Leicester's promotion push.

Crystal Palace is the obvious choice for Zaha.

Ian Holloway knows all about him and he'd be pushing for a place in the first XI straight away.

And in the summer, Zaha would return to United with a season of Premier League experience under his belt.

Nurturing young players is a difficult business. 

If it was easy, clubs would churn them out on a production line.

And so Moyes faces a difficult decision over Zaha. To stay or to go.