Crystal Palace head coach Patrick Vieira has, on Friday evening, provided an insight into both the future and fitness of star man Wilfried Zaha.
The subject of attacker Zaha’s plan beyond the summer, of course, has long taken its place front and centre in the headlines at Selhurst Park.
This comes as the Ivorian international continues to stand firm in his refusal to put pen to paper on fresh terms with the Eagles.
Zaha’s current contract is due to expire come the close of the campaign.
Speaking to the media ahead of his side’s Premier League meeting with Aston Villa this weekend, it therefore came as little surprise when, once more, the subject of his talismanic wide-man’s future was put to Patrick Vieira once more.
And Palace’s head coach went on to reveal his hope that, ultimately, Zaha will come to the decision to stay put:
“That is going to be his decision (to make). If there are options and he takes them it will be a sad moment but we will have to respect it. He may want to stay here and try to take the club to a different level and build something the fans will always remember.
“It’s still a couple of games and a couple of months before thinking about that (the contract situation) and the way that he’s conducting himself the way he trained, his only focus is about helping the football club, helping the team to win games and to score.”
From here, the Eagles headmaster went on to provide an insight into Zaha’s current fitness levels, too.
As the club’s supporters will be all too aware, the 30-year-old has missed each of Palace’s last four fixtures, owing to a hamstring injury picked up during a meeting with Newcastle back in January.
Now back fit and firing, though, Zaha is in line to mark his return to the pitch on Saturday, at Villa Park:
“Wilfried trained the last two weeks with the team and this week he didn’t miss any training, so he will be in the squad.”
“Having Wilfried back is one more weapon. There’s no doubt about his confidence, belief and quality he has in front of goal but if we want him to score we need to create those chances and the team has to play well.
“He is an important player for us. He’s got the experience, can score goals and he’s a leader of the group.”
Patrick Vieira is hopeful that Wilfried Zaha will sign a new contract and stay at Palace.
Zaha is available for the trip to Aston Villa tomorrow after returning from a hamstring injury. #CPFChttps://t.co/ywOiRZ6fgl
— Matt Woosnam (@MattWoosie) March 3, 2023
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