Roy Hodgson has directed a dig at Everton, with the Crystal Palace boss dismissing the Blues as not worthy enough to sign Wilfried Zaha.
Zaha’s determination to leave the Eagles in the summer was well published, with the 26-year old going as far as to hand in a transfer request in an attempt to force a move.
Arsenal were initially interested, and when their attention waned Everton stepped up, and despite both clubs believed to have interested Zaha, the forward was denied his exit and remains at Selhurst Park.
While Sky Sports had reported that Everton had made several bids for Zaha, each increasing in amount, it was later revealed that the Toffees only made one bid of £52million for the player, which was promptly rejected.
Now talking about Zaha’s future following reports that the forward has moved to sack his agent, Hodgson has seemingly looked to swipe at Everton, implying they aren’t a big enough club to pique Zaha’s interest.
As reported by Liverpool Echo, Hodgson said:
With Wilf, I don’t think anyone was thinking we definitely must block him because we want our best player still with us.
We understood that if a really big offer comes his way and a much bigger club than Crystal Palace want him, and he is desperate to go, we are going to have to try and do some kind of deal.
The unfortunate thing for Wilf is that offer did not come his way from the sort of club that he would want. I think Steve Parish has made that clear to Wilf and they’ve thrashed that side of it out.
As a result it is not a major problem for me with Wilf coming back, having accepted the situation. The way he works here is just the same as it was. Since the first day he has been mature about it.
Does Hodgson’s underhanded slam of Everton have any merit?
Read Everton Verdict
Hodgson’s comments are ridiculous, and it has become a running theme on social media as well as among other ‘media experts’ to dismiss Everton’s position as one of the biggest clubs in England.
Everton are not a successful club if you’re only considering the Premier League, and they haven’t tasted silverware in some time, but football existed before 1992, and to even think that Zaha wouldn’t be moving up from Palace to Everton is asinine.
Zaha’s actions in handing in a transfer request indicate that he DID want to come to the “sort” of club Everton are, and it doesn’t take but five minutes to find out why. The Toffees are a sleeping giant, but make no mistake, they are still a giant, and Palace aren’t half the stature.
Everton have more money than Palace, more long-term European prospects, and more chance of winning domestic silverware. Hodgson is clearly protecting Palace’s reputation by dismissing Everton because the club employs him, and as such he is right to do so, but don’t think for a second that an Eagles player moving to Everton wouldn’t clearly be a step up.
