Patrick Vieira says he has “no doubt” that Wilfried Zaha will remain a Crystal Palace player beyond Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Zaha has begun the season in sensational form, taking his tally to four goals in as many League games with a stunning effort to open the scoring in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
The Ivorian is into the final 12 months of his contract at Selhurst Park and is the subject of late window interest from Chelsea.
However, Vieira insists he is not contemplating the possibility of life without his talisman.
“I didn’t even put that in my head,” Vieira said. “I didn’t even ask myself that question. I’m working with him every day and there is no doubt, there is nothing crossing my mind that something like that will happen.
“He never showed anything like that. The only thing he is showing is competitiveness on the field, doing well for the super club that he loves very much.”
“Today, we needed something special to score a goal and Wilfried delivered,” Vieira said, and when asked whether the speculation over Zaha’s future had become a distraction he added: “None at all. We’re used to it.
“When you look at his smile when he scored that goal, it says everything. The smile on his face tells you how much he loves this football club.”
