Pardew: Zaha will remain a fans’ favourite

Wilfried Zaha will remain a favourite with the Selhurst Park faithful despite asking for permission to leave Crystal Palace for Tottenham, according to Alan Pardew.

The 23-year-old has been the subject of significant speculation linking him with Tottenham over recent days but Pardew insisted Zaha was going nowhere.

Crystal Palace are yet to register their first win of the league season but did beat Blackpool 2-0 at home in the EFL Cup this week.

And Pardew believes the winger, who had a brief but difficult spell at Manchester United, was still a major part of his plans going forward.

(Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

“He came to me and said he believed there was interest from Tottenham and could he go, and I said we would have to see what they bid,” Pardew said.

“We didn’t instigate anything regarding a transfer, like we didn’t with Yala [Yannick Bolasie], but I think our chairman [Steve Parish] has put a full stop to that and that is the right thing for us.

“Wilfried is a fans’ favourite and our player of the year from last year and we want to keep him.

“He remains part of our plans, he was never out of my plans, other than when we had a bid yesterday, and I want to take him forward with this team.”