Although Crystal Palace have managed to keep Wilfried Zaha at the club this summer, his public desire to leave still makes the saga a touchy subject, as one journalist learnt the hard way this weekend.
Following Palace’s 0-0 draw with Everton – one of Zaha’s biggest suitors – at Selhurst Park on Saturday, Roy Hodgson was asked whether he was now concerned about the January transfer window.
Twitter:
Roy #cpfc https://t.co/Q8jUwY4Mqz (@LukeTyr)
The former England manager’s has handled the Zaha situation brilliantly and his response was stern and clear, with the comment about worrying about January on December 31st particularly earning praise.
Palace supporters unsurprisingly leapt to hail Hodgson on social media after the clip from his post-match press conference was revealed:
Twitter: @LukeTyr Not all heroes wear capes (@LaurenceH_CPFC)
Twitter: @LukeTyr Roy loves it doesn’t he? I’d love him to turn to one of them and say,”Are you some kind of mug?”.
(@Bunglebob66)
Twitter: @LukeTyr @SPBurr4 Man like Roy (@rob9boy)
Twitter: @LukeTyr Top Man
(@fuell15)
Twitter: @LukeTyr One positive to come out the summer shenanigans is that whereas before there were quite a few critical of… https://t.co/RNNdr8PFIb (@ola_cpfc)
Read Crystal Palace’s verdict
Hodgson has never been one to mince his words and fans rightly can’t get enough of his latest stunt. The question… in question… was silly, with January being over four months away and the summer transfer window closing just last week.
Zaha may want to move onto pastures new but he simply loves the club and there should be great confidence in him doing his best whilst he wears the shirt.
Aged 26, the forward is certainly close to hitting his peak and his impact could genuinely be the difference between a top-half finish and a relegation scrap for the Eagles this term.
As long as harmony amongst the squad remains at a high, there’s no reason why journalists and fans should continue to talk about the prospect of Zaha departing.
