Crystal Palace will not sell Zaha while Premier ambitions are alive

 
Wilfried Zaha

Crystal Palace co-owner Stephen Browett says ­Wilfried Zaha’s England call‑up has strengthened the club’s resolve that their star man is not for sale in January.

The 20-year-old midfielder was last night called up for the friendly in Sweden after a series of stunning displays helped Palace to the top of the Championship.

That has led to speculation linking Zaha with clubs such as Arsenal, ­Liverpool and Manchester City but Browett says it would be foolish for Palace to scupper their own promotion bid by allowing him to leave.

“We absolutely do not want to sell Wilfried in January,” said Browett, who owns the club with fellow consortium members Steve Parish, Martin Long and Jeremy Hosking. “If you finish bottom of the Premier League you get £60million in prize money, and with parachute payments over four years you’re guaranteed £100m.

“It is such a massive amount that selling your best player when you have a good chance of promotion makes no sense at all. The figure of £20m has been talked about and that lets clubs know we are serious but he is not for sale.”

Browett believes Zaha will have no problem stepping-up to international level and says his recognition proves the success of Palace’s Academy.

Zaha came through the ranks at Palace after joining aged 12, and with a potential catchment area thought to be around 900,000 people, Browett believes his success will encourage parents to send their children to the club.

And having starred at Old Trafford in last season’s League Cup, Browett is convinced the England Under-21 international will handle the transition to the senior group for Wednesday’s friendly in Stockholm.

“Wilfried is clearly a brilliant player, and a lot of the thanks for that has to go to our Academy and the manager there, Gary Issott,” said Browett.

“His call-up is a great advert to parents of young children — if you want them to play and be given a chance, take them to Crystal Palace. I don’t think he will be fazed by this as he has played more than 100 professional games for the club. He has played away at all the top Championship clubs and when we won at Manchester United last season he was superb.

“Most of the other youngsters in the England squad will have played a handful of games but he has had the opportunity to play regularly.

“A number of clubs in the Premier League just don’t have that many English-qualified players, so maybe Roy Hodgson should be looking towards the Championship.”

Zaha is the first outfield player from the second tier of English football to be called up for the Three Lions since Jay Bothroyd, of Cardiff, two years ago. Bothroyd featured against France to become the first Championship player to win an England cap since Preston’s David Nugent scored in a 3-0 win over Andorra in March 2007.

And although Zaha has turned down the Ivory Coast to represent England, Palace co-owner Parish is concerned other Championship players with dual eligibility have been lost.

He said: “We have some really talented young kids who have represented England at various different levels. I do worry about England’s recruitment policy.

“Jonny Williams is a fantastic player in the Jack Wilshere mould but he opted for Wales; Victor Moses (who left Palace in 2010) is now with Nigeria and I know there’s been a lot of pressure on Wilfried to look at the Ivory Coast.

“Only 34 per cent of players in the Premier League are English, I think there is a prejudice among the England set-up toward Premier League players and I think they need to look beyond that.

“They need to do more to ensure they have the opportunity of getting these players. I haven’t seen many English players who do what Wilf can with the ball. He is a fantastic talent.

“Jonny’s family are from Wales but he was born in Croydon. It just feels like that other country’s are making more of an effort.

“We need to look at where we are these days and think about the effort we need to make.”

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