Roy Hodgson Expects Interest to Be High for Crystal Palace Star Wilfried Zaha Come January

Since returning from injury and reclaiming his place in the starting XI, Wilfried Zaha has been the spark that Palace have so desperately been missing. With the January transfer window fast approaching and speculation already starting to mount, Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson expects interest to grow even stronger come January.

The 25-year-old winger has thrived since returning from a sustained knee injury early in the season. In his return playing in a central striker role, he has notched three goals in five appearances. It is no surprise that in his absence Palace’s form took a tremendous dip and the team looked completely inept and incapable of sustaining any sort of creative intensity.

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Speaking to the press ahead of the weekend's game, Hodgson said: “You can’t ever dismiss interest in any of your players. Wilf Zaha is an obvious name, but there are other players that I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other clubs interested in, and we have to be prepared for that going into January.”

Such impressive form hasn’t gone unnoticed as some of the Premier League heavyweights are rumoured to be interested in acquiring his services. As recently as early this month, Arsenal were interested in making him a replacement for contract rebel Alexis Sanchez and were ready to submit an offer of over £30m.

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North London rivals Tottenham and table toppers Manchester City are also rumoured to be interested in his services. However, earlier in the season Zaha put the fear of Palace fans to rest as he put pen to paper on a new lucrative five-year deal that aligned him with top earner Christian Benteke on £110,000-a-week.

It’s highly unlikely that Palace are going to sanction the sale of their most prized asset at such a crucial stage of the season, especially in the current position they’re in. Palace are currently rock bottom of the league and are not producing the type of football you would expect with the quality they have in their squad.