Roy Hodgson has opened up on influential forward Wilfried Zaha, praising the Ivory Coast international’s importance to Crystal Palace’s chances of beating arch-rivals Brighton this weekend.
The 26-year-old has proved a talismanic figure for The Eagles in recent weeks, scoring five goals in his past five appearances.
Crystal Palace host The Seagulls at Selhurst Park this weekend in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, and ahead of the fixture Hodgson was full of praise for Zaha’s contribution to his side.
“He is a very important player for us. Every team has players who are important,” Hodgson told his pre-match press conference.
“He is the obvious one to bring forward when it comes to Crystal Palace.
“He has been scoring goals and his general play has been good.
“It is important that he produces a good performance, because he can cause major headaches for other teams.”