Wilfried ZahaGetty Images

'Zaha is not going to stay because of my blue eyes' - Hodgson hopes to keep Palace star

Wilfried Zaha will not have his head turned by money as Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson prepares for summer interest in the forward.

The 25-year-old has scored eight goals and assisted three times this season for Palace, whose campaign has been turned around since Hodgson’s appointment as manager.

Zaha previously endured a difficult time at Manchester United, where he made just four appearances before returning to Palace in August 2014, initially on loan.

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Hodgson wants the Ivory Coast international to stay at Palace, but he cannot be certain that his future lies at Selhurst Park.

"That will be a club issue,” said Hodgson. “The fact is he is not going to stay because of my blue eyes, he will stay because he likes playing at Selhurst Park, he likes the crowd and he thinks this is the right place for him.

"I suppose a lot will depend on what offers come to the club and the only thing I can say with real certainty is that nobody at the club, in particular myself and my coaching staff and the other players, want him to leave, obviously not.”

The former England boss believes that Zaha has matured since his time at United and he is ready to return to a top club.

He added: "I have heard him say in interviews that he felt he was too young going to Manchester United and wasn’t ready to handle the pressures of what being at Manchester United meant.

"I am pretty sure he has matured and that is no longer the case that he lacks maturity, and the other thing is that if he believes in this club and the work that we are doing, you sometimes can’t do a lot better than where you are.

"What I do know is that someone like Wilf, if their head does ever get turned, it won’t be because there is more money involved.”

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