Paul Pogba will not join Real Madrid this summer, Lionel Messi wants Barcelona to sign Neymar and more: Transfer Roundup, 20 July 2019

Roy Hodgson says he is unaware of Zaha telling the club he wants to leave

As per several reports, Wilfried Zaha had informed Crystal Palace of his intention to leave the club in the summer on his return after the African Cup of Nations. However, the Eagles' manager Roy Hodgson has now aired a claim that he is unaware of the Ivory Coast international making any such admissions.

Arsenal are said to be keen on signing Zaha before the transfer window closes and have already had a £40 million bid rejected. However, they're expected to return with an improved offer.

Speaking at the City Ground, Roy Hodgson said,

"He has not spoken to me. I don't know if he's spoken to the club [asking to leave]," said Hodgson, speaking at the City Ground.

"As far as I'm concerned, he is coming back, he is our player and I've been given no information that the club is interested in selling him at the moment. I'm just expecting him back, looking forward to working with him and seeing some of the things he can do for us."

What this could mean for Arsenal is that they will have to price Zaha out of Crystal Palace as the club and the player are resigned to continue working together.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

Know More

Edited by Sripad