Crystal Palace Talisman Wilfried Zaha Speaks Out on His Future After Opening Day Heroics

Crystal Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha is set to stay at the club for 'many years' after guiding the club to a convincing 2-0 win over Fulham, with both Roy Hodgson and the player himself quashing any talk of a departure. 

According to the Daily Mail, Eagles boss Hodgson, who led the Cottagers to a Europa League final back in 2010, believes the Ivorian will be at Selhurst Park for the long run. 

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Zaha, who was of interest to Chelsea and Tottenham this summer, scored his side's second goal as they secured all three points at Craven Cottage, and Hodgson certainly didn't mince his words when discussing his talisman's importance to his side. 

The 71-year-old said: "We had no interest in selling Wilfried Zaha. We want him at the club as many years as we can have him.

"He's a south London, Crystal Palace player and he knows we really appreciate what he can do for us.

"Many teams have a player of that type, a player who is a talisman. Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho will have to ask the same question about their (Harry) Kane's,  (Kevin) De Bruyne's and (Eden) Hazard's."

On the speculation linking the former Manchester United forward with a move away from SE25, the 25-year-old was dismissive, stating his intentions to give his all to his boyhood club. 

Speaking to BBC Sport (via football.london), Zaha said: "To be honest, I have just had my head down and it was not something I was involved in.

"I want to get myself better, and I don’t have time to think about the speculation.I am with Palace and that's all I'm really thinking about."

After a tough opening 30 minutes at Craven Cottage, as Palace had to weather the storm of an enthusiastic newly promoted side eager to impress, Zaha spoke of his joy in the way his side managed the game and came out on top. 

The Ivory Coast international said: "It was a difficult game but we stuck by our game plan. We knew we couldn't get impatient, and just had to stay in our shape and take our chances in possession.

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"We are just taking every game as it comes, the main thing is taking our chances because we have pace in our team and we can counter on sides."