‘It would be wrong to rule it out’: Roy Hodgson admits Wilfried Zaha will likely exit Crystal Palace this summer
- Wilfried Zaha told Sportsmail he wants to play for a Champions League club
- Crystal Palace are likely to accept a bid in the region of £80m for Zaha
- Roy Hodgson said he cannot do much to keep Zaha at Selhurst Park
Roy Hodgson says a large summer transfer bid for Wilfried Zaha may prompt the club to allowing him to leave and admits he does not have the power to veto a deal.
Zaha told Sportsmail last week that he wants to quit Selhurst Park in the summer and join a team in the Champions League.
Hodgson accepted there is little he can do to keep Zaha if Palace’s reported £80m asking price is met.
Wilfried Zaha is likely to leave Crystal Palace this summer, boss Roy Hodgson admits
Hodgson said that Palace are able to do very little to keep Zaha at Selhurst Park
‘I’m not ruling out the fact that something like that could come up when we sit down – it would be wrong to do that,’ he said.
‘The point is that no one at the club has really got any interest in selling Wilf Zaha, so we’re rather hoping that we won’t get those offers. But I’m realistic and it would be a club issue.
‘If the bids don’t come to me any more, the bids come through the chairman himself (Steve Parish) or through (sporting director) Doug Freedman, if one day they call me in and say ‘Look, this is the situation’, I shall be in their hands basically.
‘I don’t have the power to veto any decisions of that nature.’
Hodgson said that he believes it is ‘not an impossible dream’ for his players to reach the Champions League with Crystal Palace.
Palace’s star forward Wilfried Zaha last week cast doubt over his future at Selhurst Park by stating his desire to experience Europe’s premier club competition.
While Eagles manager Hodgson wishes to keep Zaha in south London, he also feels members of his squad should be ambitious.
Zaha told Sportsmail that he wants to leave Palace for a Champions League side
‘I think if you’re in the Premier League and, at the moment, you find yourself sitting in 11th position, I’d like to think all of the players would be able to say they’d like to play in the Champions League,’ said Hodgson.
‘Maybe even with Crystal Palace because we’re a good way away from it but it’s not an impossible dream.
‘And if you’re a good player in the Premier League you know there’s always going to be a lot of people looking at you, possibly coveting you.’