Hodgson: Crystal Palace stars must earn new contracts

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson says the players currently out of contract with the club in the summer need to earn their money and the right to have their deals extended.

At the moment, the Eagles currently have 11 players who are out of contract this June and would be available to leave on free transfers.

The list includes first-team stars Christian Benteke, Gary Cahill, Mamadou Sakho, Andros Townsend and Patrick van Aanholt.

Palace have been unable to tie down the players ahead of the summer due to the financial impact of the current pandemic, and Hodgson says, with money tight, they will need to prove they are worthy of extended contracts.

“These players are under contract, it’s not unfair of us to ask them to keep giving their best, to keep playing to the top level of their ability to earn the money we’re paying them,” the Crystal Palace manager said.

“There will come a time, I’m sure, when they’ll want to know about their future because they’ll be looking to find other clubs if they don’t get the contract here.

“But I think it’s sometimes not a good thing if you – very early on – let players know that you don’t want them anymore at the time we are depending so heavily on them.”

Will Wilfried Zaha leave Crystal Palace?

The London side have struggled a bit as of late, winning just three out of their last nine matches in the Premier League.

They are, however, 10 points clear of the relegation zone in 13th.

For a few of the recent losses, Palace were without star player Wilfried Zaha, who they will likely struggle to keep hold of this summer, with Hodgson previously admitting that the former Man Utd winger has dreams of leaving to play Champions League football.

Zaha is the club’s top scorer in the league this campaign with nine goals in 19 starts.