Wilfried Zaha has not been included in Gareth Southgate’s provisional England U21s squad for the upcoming European Championships this summer.
The 22-year-old who is eligible to play for the team this summer has been in superb form this season and even more so since the arrival of Alan Pardew in January, causing many defences problems, including that of Liverpool’s on Saturday when he scored a goal within 22 seconds of coming on as a substitute in the 3-1 win at Anfield.
Crystal Palace’s manager was hopeful that the youngster would be included in the plans of England Under-21 manager Gareth Southgate this summer, but it looks as if his calls for an inclusion for the Eagles winger have gone amiss. Speaking to the media after Saturday’s win, Pardew said:
“I spoke to Gareth about it and I said ‘I know he’s not in your group at the moment because you have a settled group but if you get an injury or a wildcard you should consider him because he is playing in terrific form’.
“His attitude has been spot on. His personality has changed a little because to go to a big club as a young man and not get much of a chance he got a little bit down and a little bit negative about his game.
“We have managed to get that out of him. You see today he is smiling and bubbly and that is when Zaha is at his best.”
