EAGLE WIL NOT FLY AWAY
Zaha’s happy to carry on his one-man show
WILFRIED ZAHA insisted he is staying at Crystal Palace as Roy Hodgson urged the South London club to spend to avoid another season fighting relegation.
The Ivory Coast star netted the opening goal as the Eagles ended a rollercoaster season with a third consecutive victory to finish just out of the top 10 on goal difference.
Former England boss Hodgson immediately warned that they will not be able to repeat their miracle of staying in the Premier League after losing their first seven games – and needed to invest in the playing squad.
But the biggest boost for Palace will be retaining Zaha. With Manchester City interested in signing the former Manchester United winger, Swansea’s sale of Gylfi Sigurdsson last summer is a clear warning of the danger of selling your best player.
And amid the post-match celebrations yesterday, Zaha said: “I have no plans on leaving. I’m enjoying my football, you can see how much I’m enjoying it.
“This is my home and there’s no reason for me to leave.”
As well as the buzz he creates around Selhurst Park every time he touches the ball, Palace did not gain a single point from the 10 matches the Ivory Coast star did not start in this season.
He did not keep
Palace up on his own. But it was pretty close.
And pretty priceless.
Hodgson added: “I understand people coveting our players like Wilfried Zaha, but he loves playing for the club.
“He’s a Croydon boy and I don’t think he’s going to jump at the first opportunity.
“As far as I’m concerned, until the day an offer comes in that the club accept, I’ll let it wash over my head.
“Wilf knows how much we value him as a player and a person, a Croydon lad who has dedicated his career to Palace.
He has a long-term contract until May 2022, is one of our best-paid players, and he knows full well the last thing on anyone’s mind here is letting him go. We don’t need to sell him.”
Instead, Hodgson wants to buy with Palace set to lose the onloan Ruben Loftus-cheek.
“If we can get middle of the table again, we have to be satisfied with that, but if we are to get there, we can’t do it like we did this year,” he said. “If we want to finish 11th, we have to do what Burnley and Leicester did this season and never be close to the relegation zone.”
Zaha volleyed home Patrick van Aanholt’s 70th-minute cross for his fifth goal in six games before the Dutchman netted eight minutes later.
Former Baggies boss Hodgson added: “It’s a day that is tinged with sadness because I’m really sad to see West Brom go down. They are a very good club with fantastic fans.
“At the start of the season I couldn’t dream that West Brom would be one of the teams to go down.
“Our success is to their detriment to some extent.”