England manager Gareth Southgate has insisted that he is not concerned by Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha’s decision to represent Ivory Coast.

Prior to the tricky wide man opting to play for the African side, there was a lot of speculation and confusion regarding whether or not he should be called up for the England squad, but Southgate insisted that despite holding conversations with him over a future with the Three Lions, he had already agreed to represent Ivory Coast.

But first opportunity I had as permanent manager I did go and speak to him. The Ivory Coast had been talking to him and his family for a long period of time and obviously it had been a couple of years that he had been out of the England fold. We hoped to have him as an option for us but there’s nothing we could do about it.

In the end I have to focus on players who are desperate to play for England. For me it’s different to a club.

Southgate had previously managed Zaha within the England setup when he was the boss of the England Under-21 side and may have considered the Eagles winger for the recent fixtures during the international break.

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The Daily Mail claim that Palace were keen for their star man to represent England consistently at an international level but the 24-year-old opted to stick with his guns and play for Ivory Coast.

If you feel that internal 100 per cent passion for playing for England, then I’m not sure it’s for me to sell that to you. It should be your desire to do it. Although I’m always willing to sit down with players, it should be them coming to us.

He’s already had an impact for the country too, chipping in with a superb goal.