Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has insisted that he expects Wilfried Zaha to stay at the club this summer despite revealing his desire to play Champions League football.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have long been linked with the south London star, who said this weekend that he was eager to test himself at a higher level, in addition to Liverpool, Manchester City and foreign clubs including Borussia Dortmund.
The 26-year-old returned to Selhurst Park from Manchester United in 2015 after moving to Old Trafford for an ill-fated spell in 2013 that saw the winger shipped out to Cardiff City on loan.
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Speaking after Palace's 3-2 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, Hodgson offered an optimistic assessment of his side's chances of keeping their talismanic forward.
"How many players, if the question is put to them, will say they don't want to play Champions League football?" said the Eagles boss in his post-match press conference.
"Congratulations to the journalist, who has caught him at the right moment and extracted an honest answer out of him. 'Would you like to play Champions League football? Yes I would.'
"'Do you think you're good enough to play at a higher level? He says yes. I don't know what I can do to gamesay that.
"He's a very good player but the bottom line is this, he's a Crystal Palace player. He's certainly happy at Crystal Palace, that wasn't the performance of a guy who wants to get away from his club. I would say quite the reverse.
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"He's on a four-year contract, he's one of our highest-paid players, he's absolutely adored by the fans and everyone in south-east London. As far as I'm concerned.
"I'm looking forward to seeing him in a Crystal Palace shirt for many years to come. But life throws things up and we'll see what happens.
"I don't place as much importance on those stories as maybe I should do. Sometimes you get asked questions and whatever you answer you can find yourself in the wrong."
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