Crystal Palace star hits back at England manager snipe

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has hit back at claims made by Gareth Southgate that he put a timescale on whether he would be selected by the England manager.

Southgate expressed his regret at Zaha’s decision to swap international allegiances from England to the Ivory Coast, the country of his birth, back in November but was not overly impressed by Zaha’s approach to the situation.

The 46-year-old was made England manager on a permanent basis at the end of November and made sorting Zaha’s international future one of his first priorities only to find out Zaha had already decided to represent The Elephants.

Southgate revealed after England’s 2-0 win over Lithuania on Sunday that he only wanted players that were 100 per cent committed to playing for England when speaking about Zaha, claims which the Palace ace has since refuted.

“In light of recent comments and reports questions Wilfried’s desire or passion to play for England I feel it’s important to set the record straight,” a statement read from Salthouse, of Unique Sports Management, via The Daily Telegraph.

“Wilfried did not impose a timescale or set a date by which he had to be selected by England, there was no ‘disappearing egg timer’. The ‘private’ meeting with Mr Southgate was very amicable.

“However the fact remains that Wilfried made his decision to play for the Ivory Coast prior to Mr Southgate being appointed interim and subsequently permanent England manager.

“It was Wilfried’s personal choice and it was his right as a senior player to accept the opportunity to represent his nation of birth and that of his family heritage.

“His ‘desire’ or passion should never have been publically questioned for making that decision. Wilfried is very proud of his family and very proud to represent the Ivory Coast, most recently demonstrated by his performance against Russia.”

Only Eden Hazard (119) and Adama Traore (110) have completed more dribbles in the Premier League than Zaha this season (104), while only Alexis Sanchez (8.04) has secured a higher rating away from home this term than the 24-year-old (7.79).

For more stats on Wilfried Zaha, click here to visit his WhoScored player page