Wilfried Zaha’s disastrous spell at Manchester United was a necessary part of the journey to create the player he is today, according to Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew.

The winger currently has three goals and tops the Eagle’s assist charts with six so far this season.

Pardew denies that the 24-year-old has changed his game dramatically to achieve the impressive stats, instead putting the improvement down to natural development.

“I hear a lot of people criticised him for his lack of assists, lack of goals, but the solution laid on the training ground, in himself and in my coaches, my training team – myself, Kevin Keen, Keith Millen – [we kept] grinding on him about his finishing and his end product and it’s now becoming a feature of his game,” Pardew explained.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“Now everybody’s assuming that he’s changed, but he hasn’t changed, sometimes it’s age, it’s experience.

“The experience of going to Man United and it not working out, then coming here and re-working his game. It’s all part of growing up.”

Zaha has made two appearances for England but as both came in friendly fixtures, the winger is thought to be interested in a switch to the country of his birth, Ivory Coast.

And Pardew added that the Gareth Southgate’s team would be missing a trick if he was allowed to switch allegiances in his current form.

“The form he’s in now, England are making a big mistake letting him slip through the net, they really are,” he said.

Antonio Conte admits he is loving skipper John Terry’s contribution behind the scenes at Chelsea this term – although he does not want to usher him into a coaching role just yet.

Rumours have once again begun to swirl around the 36-year-old defender’s future, with speculation rife that this will be his last season in a Blues shirt.

Terry has not started a Premier League game since mid-September, with a combination of injuries and the fine form of defensive trio Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill keeping him on the sidelines.

And while the former England captain has been as influential as ever in the dressing room despite his absence on the pitch, Conte still views Terry as a key player and not yet a coaching prospect.

“John is our captain and he is doing a great job when he plays,” Conte said.

“Now he is injured he is helping me a lot in the changing room to send the right message to the players. This is fantastic. John loves this club.

“He is coming with us home and away, to stay with us, to send the right message, and I think this is very positive.

“I’ve got to know him very well in this period and I’m pleased also to know the man and not only the player.

“It’s important now to be focused on the moment and don’t think about the future. I don’t like to look forward a lot.

“John is able to do different roles in football, but now it’s important to continue to think to play, because we need him.”

Sunderland’s recent hot form hit a speed bump up against fellow strugglers Swansea – but defender Papy Djilobodji insists his side are not about to sink back into despair.

The Black Cats had won three of their last four Premier League games, only for Swansea to leapfrog them at the bottom of the table on Saturday in a thumping 3-0 victory.

 (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

But though their next three games are all against high-flying sides – Chelsea, Watford and Manchester United – Djilobodji has urged Sunderland’s loyal support to keep the faith.

“We have to stay positive because it’s not that easy,” said Djilobodji. “We had three victories in four games and even though we lost to Swansea we need to stay strong.

“We have to stay together for our survival in the Premier League and we don’t need negativity because we have the people behind us – the fans – and they come everywhere we go.

“We need them and we will need them throughout the season, but I think we will give them what they deserve and they deserve the team to stay in the Premier League.

“Wednesday’s game is going to be difficult but we can do better than we did at Swansea, so we will rest, prepare well and do our best to pick up some points.”

Bob Bradley has moved to warn off any teams thinking of swooping for in-form Gylfi Sigurdsson by insisting the Icelandic midfielder is going nowhere.

The 27-year-old, who is in his second spell at the club, is currently the Swans’ joint top scorer this season alongside Leroy Fer.

He also chipped in last season and in the entirety of 2016 has had a hand in 47% of Swansea’s league goals, scoring 14 and setting up seven.

Sigurdsson signed a new four-year contract in August but that has not stopped him from being linked to other clubs during the January transfer window with Everton having also been supposedly interested in him in the summer.

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

But Bradley, whose Swansea side sit in the relegation zone, believes the midfielder will be crucial for pulling them away from the wrong end of the table.

“He has been terrific for us. I am sure there are many clubs taking notice, but from our standpoint we consider him to be very important as we move forward,” said Bradley.

“We are confident that he is going to be part of our squad in the second half of the season and beyond.

“For us to improve in the longer-term, a player like Gylfi is a vital part of our vision.”

Walter Mazzarri insists no team is beyond his Watford side when they are at the top of their game, as the Hornets prepare for their Wednesday night clash with Premier League giants Manchester City.

Watford go into tomorrow’s match at the Etihad on the back of a narrow 3-2 victory against Everton at the weekend, while Pep Guardiola’s men are still hurting from their 4-2 defeat to champions Leicester City.

Nine points separate the two sides in the Premier League table, with City languishing behind Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the pile.

But despite their inferior position, Mazzarri insists his side will show no fear as they travel north.

(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

“I said this to my players,” he said. “If we put ourselves in front of our opponents we can fight against any Premier League team. If we are 100% ready, we can play against any team in the Premier League and battle for the three points.’

“This is something that gives us a lot of positivity before the game.”

He added: “I saw the game against Leicester.

“I was surprised, but in Italy we have a saying, ‘each game has its own story’. This won’t help us. We will find Manchester City very angry and concentrated; we won’t have the luck that they will underestimate us.”

Pep Guardiola insists he will live and die by the sword after vowing not to change his style at Manchester City following a heavy defeat at Leicester City.

The Citizens made a blistering start to the season by winning their first ten matches under the Spaniard – who finally joined City after a long chase last summer.

But since a 3-3 draw with Celtic at the beginning of October, they have won just four of their last 14 games.

They appeared to reach a real low in their defeat at Leicester, with Jamie Vardy and Andy King scoring in the first five minutes in the 4-2 win.

Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images

Guardiola prefers a possession-based style, but he insists he will not change despite admitting things need to change quickly.

“Long term projects don’t exist in football,” he said. “You have to win immediately. If you don’t win you will be in trouble.

“Always when you make mistakes you have to minimise the mistakes to win the games.

“I believe in that. I believe in what I like to play. If I am not able to do that, the boss and the chairman are going to decide, but there is no way [I will change].”

Mark Noble insists Hammers’ star midfielder Dimitri Payet is fully committed to the club after he was voted joint-17th in the Ballon d’Or award.

Payet was one of the key performers in Slaven Bilic’s incredible season with West Ham last year as he scored nine league goals – many of which were direct free-kicks.

The midfield maestro also impressed with France during the European Championships this summer but has had a slow start to the new season.

But Payet was back to his best at the weekend with another free-kick as West Ham earned a 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

And Noble is confident the Frenchman can continue to produce for the Hammers as they look to move up the Premier League table.

“The chances he has created this season and the important goals he has scored for us, Dimi is fully committed – I can tell you that now,” Noble said.

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

“He is great with the lads. I have got a very close bond with Dimi. I just love seeing people come to the club and do so well.

“I see him train every day. I see how he feels when he loses games. And don’t forget, he hasn’t even had a holiday.

“This season was going to be so difficult because of what he did last season. I am not just talking about him being one of the best players in the Premier League.

“For the last season, he has been one of the best players in the whole world with the Euros.”

Safely ensconced in the Premier League top ten and with just three Premier League defeats in their last 11 matches, West Bromwich Albion’s Tony Pulis is looking to make the most of home comforts this week.

The Welshman welcomes Swansea City to the Hawthorns on Wednesday, before Manchester United visit the Black Country on Saturday.

But with defensive lynchpin Craig Dawson set to miss the mid-week game through suspension, Pulis has a dilemma on his hands over who replaces him at right-back.

The defender has started each of the last 53 Baggies Premier League games, but Pulis is convinced he has adequate cover to replace the 26-year-old.

“We’ll miss Daws because he has played exceptionally well for us,” said the manager.

“However, we’ve got to get on with it and we are lucky enough to have options there. I’m chewing it over.

“Obviously we have [Allan] Nyom who can switch, we could slot Brunty [Chris Brunt] in, you could play Jonny Evans there, and we could bring Brendan Galloway in.”

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

And Pulis is not concerned by the fixture schedule, which sees his men play three games in eight days.

“We’ll look at it as we go along,” he added.

“I don’t think that players can’t play three games in a week or three games in six days.

“As long as the preparations after the games, as much as anything else, is done properly.”

Only Chelsea have won more home games than Burnley this season but Sean Dyche knows the Clarets have to improve on their away form – starting against West Ham on Wednesday.

Victory over Bournemouth at the weekend was enough to move Burnley five points clear of the drop zone, with five wins from nine games at Turf Moor – a better record than both Manchester clubs.

However they have only picked up one point on their travels so far and with trips to West Ham and Tottenham next up, the pressure is on to improve that record.

And while home support has been crucial to the record at Turf Moor, Dyche believes the Clarets’ away fans have understood and backed the team regardless.

(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

He said: “I’m really pleased because our home form is important, we’re well-backed by the people of Burnley, particularly the ones who come to the stadium.

“But it goes beyond that. I’m really pleased because of the amount of goals we’ve scored and the style of the goals as well.

“The away form is well-documented and we know we’ve got to adjust that and it’s not that easy. It sounds easy but it’s not. But the home form is solid at least, if not better than solid.

“The fans back us, and they do away I must say that, we get good numbers and they get in good voice behind. At home we’ve really given the fans something to cheer about and I’m pleased with that.

“It is tough going away, it is. The fans get that and they’ve been faultless in their backing of us. We want the team to respond from their own point of view and bring the fans with us.”

Sami Hyypia knows a thing or two about being a centre-back and the Liverpool legend has been impressed by current Reds defender Joel Matip.

Hyypia racked up over 450 appearances for Liverpool during a decade at the club and won a slew of trophies at Anfield, including two FA Cups, two League Cups, the UEFA Cup and the Champions League.

The Finn was a stalwart at the heart of the Reds defence between 1999 and 2009 and made the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions, as well as the UEFA Team of the Year once.

Matip is still some way from matching Hyypia’s success but has made a strong start to life at Anfield since moving from Schalke over the summer – unbeaten in his 14 appearances after missing the Burnley and Bournemouth defeats through injury.

Photo credit: Getty Images

“I knew him from Germany, I think I played against him and then managed Leverkusen when he was at Schalke,” said Hyypia of the 25-year-old.

“He’s a good player. He’s a big guy, dominant player, very comfortable on the ball and that’s a big piece of how the team plays.

“When you want to play football, you need to have somebody who is comfortable on the ball and on the other hand a strong defender.

“His style of play is that he is comfortable on the ball but I think that comes from confidence, he is very confident that he can play football.”

Matip’s ability on the ball and his defensive positioning have been apparent in his Premier League career so far and the comparisons to Hyypia have already been bountiful – although the 43-year-old has spotted one key difference.

Hyypia joked: “If you want to see similarities, I think there are some – but I think he’s a bit quicker than me!”