Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has admitted he has failed to take the rumours linking Wilfried Zaha with a move to China seriously, football.london report.
Ivory Coast international Zaha has been Palace’s standout performer under Hodgson over the past 12 months, which has led to speculation increasing over a move away from Selhurst Park.
Zaha has been linked with a move to Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang earlier this week, with reports suggesting the forward would be offered £390,000 a week to make the move.
However, the 26-year-old signed a contract extension in August with Palace until 2023, making him the club’s best paid player in the process.
And talking ahead of the Eagles’ clash with Chelsea at Selhurst Park on Sunday, Hodgson admitted he doesn’t understand why Zaha would even consider the lucrative move.
I find it hard to take seriously because I don’t understand why someone who has such an enormous future at the very top level of the game in England and who has just signed a four-year contract with a very good salary at a club where he is very much liked and admired and respected, would decide I’m going to pass all that up and go to China instead.
I don’t understand why you would want to do that. That’s why I find it very hard and anyway it’s a story that very much comes out of the blue, no one at the club has any idea where this story has come from so I find it hard to understand from that perspective.
Zaha looks set to feature for Palace in Sunday’s London derby, with Hodgson’s side looking to stretch their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four games.
