Hodgson hoping for Cabaye to stay at Palace

ROY Hodgson has revealed his desire to retain Yohan Cabaye as the Crystal Palace midfielder enters the final months of his contract.

The France i nternational, a £10 million recruit by Alan Pardew in 2015, has struggled for consistency amid the instability at Selhurst Park, but in Hodgson’s system he has significantly improved.

His role is similar to that given to Danny Murphy when Hodgson arrived at Fulham in 2007, after which the former England man produced his finest form despite his career having been in decline, and the manager is convinced of Cabaye’s importance.

Until a new contract is agreed Palace will remain at risk of losing him for free at the season’s end but Hodgson expects their director of football Dougie Freedman to soon give the 31-year-old his attention.

“If you say to me would I like Yohan Cabaye to keep working here with me, then of course the answer is ‘Yes’,” he said ahead of tomorrow’s fixture at Leicester. “I’m a big admirer of his and he’s doing a fantastic job.

“But his situation with the club will be discussed with Dougie and the chairman (Steve Parish) and then they’ll bring me in on the discussion at the appropriate time.

“There’s no doubt he’s one of the players we have who are bonafide quality Premier League players who can keep us in the league, and that group needs assisting by being boosted, not pruning in any way.

“I’d be surprised if the people who watched us play weren’t impressed by his performances in the middle with Luka Milivojevic — they’ve been very, very good together. I’ve been impressed and I’d be surprised if others weren’t, too.”

Alan Shearer