Andros Townsend desperate for Crystal Palace to keep Wilfried Zaha

Crystal Palace attacker Andros Townsend is hopeful that his team will be able to keep hold of "special" Wilfried Zaha until the transfer window closes for business.

Zaha, who scored nine Premier League goals for Palace last season, has been linked with moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea ahead of next week's transfer deadline.

The 25-year-old was on the scoresheet in Palace's 4-1 friendly win over Toulouse on Saturday, and Townsend has discussed the importance of the Ivory Coast international.

"Wilf's a special player. Of course we'd love to keep him. You could see with what he did today, how good he is, how important to us he is and hopefully he stays with us," Townsend told Sky Sports News.

Palace boss Roy Hodgson recently insisted that Zaha has not asked to leave the club this summer.