Roy Hodgson insists Wilfried Zaha is happy at Crystal Palace.
Zaha put a host of top clubs on alert this week by revealing his ambition to play Champions League football.
But Eagles boss Hodgson believes the Ivory Coast forward is settled at Selhurst Park, as evidenced by his pivotal goalscoring performance in Sunday’s 3-2 win at Arsenal.
“I think he’s a very good player, but the bottom line is this: he’s a Crystal Palace player, and he’s certainly happy at Crystal Palace as you saw today,” said Hodgson.
“That wasn’t the performance of a guy looking to get away from his club, I would say quite the reverse.
“He’s on a four-year contract, he’s one of our highest-paid players and he’s absolutely adored by the fans and everyone in south-east London.
“As far as I’m concerned I’m looking forward to working with him not only in the near future, but I’m looking forward to seeing him in the Crystal Palace shirt for many years to come.
“But life throws things up and we’ll see what happens.”
Zaha bagged his ninth Premier League goal of the season as Palace claimed their eighth away win of the campaign at Arsenal.
Christian Benteke and James McArthur were also on target as boss Hodgson’s men pulled off another hugely impressive win on the road.
Palace realistically know Zaha’s desire for Champions League football is unlikely to be realised at Selhurst Park, but Hodgson remains confident the Eagles can hold onto their top star.
“I don’t perhaps place as much importance on those stories as I should do,” said Hodgson, of Zaha’s Champions League comments.
“The question is how many players if the question is put to them would say ‘I don’t want to play Champions League football’.
“You just congratulate the journalist, he’s caught him at the right moment and extracted an honest answer out of him.
“If he’s asked do you think you’re good enough to play at a higher level’ and he says ‘yes’ then I don’t know really what I can do to gainsay that.”
