Hodgson says decision will be made on whether to offer deal to former Palace defender Nathaniel Clyne, who has been training with club
Friday 2 October 2020 16:34, UK
Roy Hodgson has admitted he does not want any late bids to come in for Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, with the international transfer window due to close at 11pm on Monday.
The 27-year-old has been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park during the last two seasons, but has started the new Premier League campaign strongly with goals in the victories over Southampton and Manchester United.
Palace face a tough trip to London rivals Chelsea on Saturday and speaking ahead of the game, Hodgson confirmed he is keen to avoid any unwanted attention for his main playmaker.
"Well, I have been told and I think Wilf has had it made clear to him that we are not interested in late bids," said Hodgson.
"If it was going to happen, it would need to happen in a timeframe which would give us a chance to see what we would want to do with the money.
"So close to the end of the transfer window, I would certainly hope it will not happen now and I want to continue working with him."
The Eagles are not expected to be busy in the transfer market themselves during the final few days of the window, although free agent Nathaniel Clyne could return to Selhurst Park, where he started his professional career.
The defender, who has 14 England caps to his name, has trained with Palace since last month and with young full-back Nathan Ferguson still out with a knee injury, there could be an opportunity for him to become part of the group.
"We believe and hope he is getting back to his best," Hodgson said of the 29-year-old.
"In the coming days, we will reassess because it is a position where we are not covered at the moment because the young lad we brought in to play in that position is still struggling with a knee injury.
"There is an opportunity I think for someone like Nathaniel to come into the club if that is what everyone at the club wants and thinks is the right thing to do. Certainly I have been impressed."
Hodgson also played down suggestions Palace have spoken to Brentford about their attacking midfielder Said Benrahma.
"The name is put out there, I'm in a position to either say no or we are, but the bottom line is, as far as I'm concerned, there isn't any real dialogue between us and Brentford at the moment," said Hodgson.
"But who knows, I've got no idea what Brentford are thinking, and it would be stupid of me to say he's not a good player.
"But we've signed [Eberechi] Eze to strengthen us in that area, we've got Jeffrey Schlupp, Andros Townsend and Max Meyer in that position as well."
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