Football
ESPN staff 7y

Alan Pardew warns England over losing Wilfried Zaha to Ivory Coast

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has said that England would be making a "big mistake" if they do not try and convince Wilfried Zaha to decide against switching to Ivory Coast.

Zaha, 24, was born in the Ivory Coast and moved to England with his family when he was four and he has since won two caps for the Three Lions, but he is eligible to switch to his country of birth as both appearances came in friendlies.

The former Manchester United winger has been in impressive form of late, scoring three goals and recording six assists in 14 Premier League outings.

Pardew said of his player: "The form he's in just now, England are making a big mistake letting him slip through the net, they really are.

"[England manager] Gareth is someone I know very well and we've spoken about Wilf. You've got to be really proactive with someone like Wilf if you want to secure him. I keep encouraging him, Dan Ashworth as well.

"When I look at Wilf and I look at the talent, I can't see that talent in too many English players in the Premier League who are playing week in, week out.

"Even when he doesn't play well, he does his defensive duties and he has to do his job. A little bit of that goes unnoticed.

"But he's stacking up the numbers and he's doing everything else. England really need to keep an eye on that situation.

"He's in brilliant form. A lot of people criticised him for his lack of assists and lack of goals but the solution lay on the training ground, in himself and my coaches.

"Myself, Kevin Keen and Keith Millen have been grinding on him about his finishing and his end product and now it's becoming a feature of his game."

Earlier this month, Southgate said he wants Zaha to remain an option for the Three Lions rather than see him switch his national allegiance to the Ivory Coast.

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