Wilfried Zaha wants European transfer as unsettled Crystal Palace star holds talks with Roy Hodgson

Giuseppe Muro9 August 2019

Wilfried Zaha is holding face-to-face talks with Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson after being told that he will not be allowed to move abroad.

The player was left devastated yesterday after his hopes of joining Everton were dashed, but he is prepared to move to a foreign club. The transfer window remains open for the major European leagues until September 2.

Hodgson admitted on Thursday that there was “beef” between Zaha and Palace chairman Steve Parish and the 26-year-old is unsettled at Selhurst Park.

Borussia Dortmund have shown interest in the past and Napoli looked at him this summer, although the Italian side have switched their focus to PSV winger Hirving Lozano.

But Palace would not sanction a move, even if a club meets their £80million valuation, as they could not now sign a replacement.

Palace are aware Zaha could again push for a move in January, when he will be an attractive option for Champions League clubs because he will not be cup-tied in Europe.

Chelsea are also said to be monitoring his situation and could make an offer for him when their two-window Fifa transfer ban ends.

For now, though, Zaha must focus on playing for Palace again. He did not train with the first-team squad on Thursday and was sent home by Hodgson after a short gym session because he was not in the right frame of mind.

Zaha was due to return to training on Friday, although it is unlikely he will to be involved when Palace play Everton on Saturday. He only recently returned to the club after playing for Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations and it is thought Hodgson has been preparing the team this week without him in mind.

Hodgson, celebrating his 72nd birthday on Friday, is holding talks with Zaha as he looks to manage a delicate situation and reintegrate an unhappy player into his squad.

In Pictures | Crystal Palace's summer transfer business

1/12

Zaha submitted a transfer request to force his way out of Palace but Everton did not make a formal offer on deadline day, signing Alex Iwobi from Arsenal for £34m instead.

The relationship between Zaha and Parish has deteriorated over the summer and the player feels he has been priced out of a move.

Hodgson told Sky Sports yesterday: “His beef is with the chairman and owners of the club because he has wanted to leave and they have not received the offer that they think is sufficient to allow him to leave.

“He has to come to terms with that. When you sign long-term contracts you are expected to honour them. Hopefully, he will come to terms with the fact he has got another season with Crystal Palace.”

The Zaha situation has been a major disruption for Palace but they need him to refocus quickly because he is again set to be crucial to their chances of staying in the Premier League.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in