Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson suggested that Wilfried Zaha may have had his head turned prior to the new season.
Speaking before Palace’s 1-0 win against Southampton at Selhurst Park yesterday in which Zaha scored the only goal of the game, Hodgson suggested that the Ivorian is being distracted by those close to him.
The Sun claim that both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are still being linked with a move for the winger before the transfer window closes early next month.
Hodgson admits that he is not concerned by Zaha’s state of mind by what he has witnessed during training and also revealed his surprise that more clubs have not made enquiries over the 27-year-old’s availability.
Zaha was reportedly the subject of a £40million offer from Arsenal last year but a move to the Emirates failed to materialise.
The winger is currently under contract in south London until 2023 (Independent).
Hodgson told The Sun: “There are a lot of things being said and a lot of people putting ideas into his head.
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“So it’s not the easiest thing for him to come to terms with.
“The external influences are quite great and he has to battle a few demons there.
“But I must say I’m basing my opinion on what he is doing at the moment.
“His training and the matches he has played for us, there has been no problem at all.
“You’d have to speak to Wilf to find out the exact state of his psyche — but I’m not concerned.”
The Palace boss added: “It’d be nice to have Wilf with us without this cloud that hangs over him – is he really going to stay with us or are we going to have to wave goodbye to him?
“I’m surprised we don’t get more people knocking on our door who are willing to pay a sensible price for him because he’s such a good player.
“He might get a bit frustrated sometimes that we aren’t having to turn down offers every single day from some of the top clubs in the world.
“Because he thinks he has that ability to play there and I think so, too.
“All the time he is with us working with me I’m delighted.
“I enjoy working with him enormously, admire and respect his talent and of course he helps us win football matches. Wilf Zaha is 100% in that category.”
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