Transfer Centre

Roy Hodgson cannot guarantee Wilfried Zaha stay

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 21 December 2017

Roy Hodgson admits that it is impossible to guarantee star man Wilfried Zaha will still be a Crystal Palace player at the end of the January transfer window.

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has conceded that Wilfried Zaha's sparkling form will inevitably lead to interest from fellow Premier League rivals.

The Ivory Coast international, under contract at Selhurst Park until 2022, has played a key part in the Eagles' recent climb up the table.

Manchester City and Chelsea are both rumoured to be in the hunt to snap up Zaha, who is understood to be available to purchase in January for £40m.

Amid the ongoing speculation surrounding his star man, Hodgson admits that he may be powerless to standing in the way of a move should an offer by tabled.

"I don't think as a manager you can ever give guarantees on anything," he told reporters. "It's a great credit to the club and to Wilf Zaha that if there are rumours circulating of so-called bigger clubs looking at him and maybe making a bid, we should be pleased about that.

"It means he is doing his job, he's helping us get the points we've been getting. I'll look at it that way at the moment. If the day comes when one of those rumours becomes the truth, I'll come to terms with it and deal with it at that moment in time.

"If you ask me do I want Wilf Zaha to stay at the club then I'm like the rest of the Crystal Palace supporters, of course I do."

Zaha has played a direct part in four Premier League goals in 12 appearances for Palace this term.