Wilfried Zaha has claimed that he will not “disrespect” Crystal Palace despite the collapse of his move away from the club in the summer, per The Daily Express.
What’s the word?
The Ivory Coast international handed in a transfer request in the last transfer window as the Eagles received bids from Arsenal and Everton.
However, no move was completed, with the Gunners signing Nicolas Pepe from Lille instead and the Toffees buying Alex Iwobi from the north Londoners.
And Zaha has confirmed that his failure to move away from Selhurst Park preyed on his mind at the beginning of the season, though he claims he is now solely focused on the Eagles.
He said: “As you get older you grow a thicker skin. You realise that you can only control the things you can control.
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“That’s why I’m back to enjoying my football again. What happened in the summer did affect me. When the season started it was still in my head.
“But after a while I told myself that I have got to get over it. Going around sulking is not going to help. I told myself I can’t be like that.
“The team has not disrespected me, or the club, or the fans. So they don’t deserve me disrespecting them.”
Did he really play for us?! No Palace fan has managed to name all of these obscure Eagles signings….
Mentality showed
Zaha has been poor for some time, although he does now has three goals in his previous five Premier League outings after his equaliser against Brighton on Monday.
That said, it took him seven top flight games to register an assist and 13 to score a goal.
It was clear that his mind was elsewhere, that he could well have been contemplating life had he moved either to the Emirates or to Goodison Park.
As the season progresses, though, he has to get back to consistent form if he is to have any chance of finally earning that move, and that will come from being in the right frame of mind – something that is missing right now.
Last season, of course, he scored 10 goals and registered 10 assists in a positive season for the Eagles.
If he is to hit those numbers again, he needs to get his head in check and ensure he is completely and utterly focused on the job at hand.
Meanwhile, Palace have been linked with a move for an ex-Sunderland star.
