Wantaway Wilfried Zaha has been “fine” upon returning to Crystal Palace training, says Hodgson

Roy Hodgson has suggested wantaway star Wilfried Zaha has not kicked up a fuss since returning to Crystal Palace training following his failed move to Arsenal.

The 26-year-old Ivorian issued a come-and-get-me plea to the Gunners earlier this summer, but it is believed that Palace knocked back multiple advances, and Arsenal have since acquired Nicolas Pepe from Lille.

Could Zaha still leave this week? Five things to know…

• In July, Zaha’s brother revealed that playing for Arsenal is his sibling’s “dream”.
• The Ivorian has also previously stated his desire to play European football.
• As such, it is believed that Arsenal launched a bid for Zaha earlier this summer.
• However, Palace have refused to budge and Zaha has since returned to training following Afcon.
• Hodgson has now intimated that Zaha has been “fine” upon his reunion with the Palace playing squad.

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Zaha, who has also seen rejected advances from Everton this summer, has made no secret of his desire to one day turn out in European football but with just four days until the Premier League window slams shut, he may have to wait before those aspirations bear fruit.

Despite this, Hodgson has suggested the incisive winger has not been a problem since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast.

The evergreen tactician offered a very pertinent response to how Zaha’s mood was during his first pre-season training session of the summer, saying: “He was fine.”

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‘We want four signings’

The former England manager also went on to highlight the club’s ambitions of signing heavily during the coming days, outlining his intentions to acquire the services of at least four new players.

He said: “We wanted four and then we sold [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka, so that meant five really and that’s not counting the goalkeeper.

“At the moment, we have got one of that five so there is still plenty of space in the number that we identified as being important for us to have in order to get the full squad, so there is still work to be done.”