Roy Hodgson tells Wilfried Zaha to commit his international future to England

England national team manager, Roy Hodgson, has asked Wilfried Zaha to commit his international future to England, after the highly-rated forward admitted he could switch to Ivory Coast.

The Crystal Palace youngster, said he had spoken to Didier Drogba, captain of the Elephants, about representing his country of birth and the chances were 50-50.

But Hodgson feels the 20-year-old should stick to the Three Lions.

“This is a very simple one for me,” he told reporters. “If any player prefers to play for a team other than England they’re welcome to do so.

“I automatically – perhaps naively – assume that, when I give a chance to a player who has played for the Under-19s and Under-21s, I expect him to cycle there if necessary and not only make himself available but almost thank us for the opportunity.

“He was a transfer target for West Brom when I was manager there. We followed him. I know the type of player he is and the quality he brings.

“When the opportunity arose to bring him into the squad, for me it was the obvious thing to do to ask him to come in.”

#featured