Roy Hodgson desperate to keep key Crystal Palace stars amid interest in Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen

Wilfried Zaha has already left Selhurst Park as rival clubs circle

Roy Hodgson has admitted it would be a “bitter blow” if Crystal Palace stars like Michael Olise left the club now, after Wilfried Zaha already departed Selhurst Park this summer.

Palace finished 11th in the Premier League last season, but their talisman Zaha finally left his boyhood club this summer after years of speculation about his future. He ran out his contract before exiting for free to join Galatasaray.

Hodgson is now wary of Palace’s need to hold onto their other assets ahead of the club’s Premier League opener at Sheffield United on Saturday. Olise, currently injured, is attracting interest right now, while Eberechi Eze earned new admirers by scoring six goals in ten games during last season’s run-in.

Meanwhile centre-backs Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen has been the subjects of transfer speculation too.

The Palace manager said: “It would be a bitter blow now if we had to start the season with other of our top players being tempted away from us, or other clubs coming in and persuading Crystal Palace to sell them.

“There is no desire to sell any of those players, and we cannot avoid speculation that other clubs will be interested in players of that quality.”

Hodgson said of Zaha: “He’s done a wonderful job for the club during his time here. We can’t wish him well enough, but the fact is you can’t expect to have a player like Wilf doing what he’s done for you forever. The day is going to come when you have to prepare for life without him.”

Hodgson, who has made Joel Ward the club’s new captain, also confirmed that he has not spoken with want-away goalkeeper Vicente Guaita since admitting this week that the Spaniard has placed himself on strike in a bid to force his way out the door.

“I wanted to carry on because the club asked me to carry on, basically, and because I so much enjoyed last season, working with the team for the last ten games”, Hodgson said of his own situation. “The opportunity to carry on working with them was one that I certainly had no intention of resisting.”

‘Major gap’: Hodgson issues verdict of imminent exit

The Crystal Palace manager handed Kane his England debut back in 2015

Hodgson defends Kane on corner duty and his reign as England manager | Goal.com English Oman

Roy Hodgson admits he won’t miss facing Harry Kane in the Premier League as the England striker prepares to leave Tottenham.

Kane is set for a medical with Bayern Munich on Friday afternoon, following an agreement between the two clubs for his transfer. The fee is believed to be more than £86.4million up front.

Crystal Palace head coach Hodgson handed Kane his England debut in March 2015. To this day, Kane calls the goal he scored that day against Lithuania his favourite across his whole career.

The forward played under Hodgson at Euro 2016, and the first five of his 58 international goals came during the 76-year-old’s tenure.

“It would be a very big miss for the Tottenham Hotspur”, Hodgson said of Kane’s departure. “I won’t be unhappy to face Tottenham Hotspur this year without Harry Kane, and a lot of my colleagues will say the same thing.

“Harry has done a remarkable job since that debut many years ago. He’s really made himself into a striker of top European quality. He’s done a fantastic job for England, and he’s been the iconic figure for Tottenham that Wilfried Zaha has been for us.”

Hodgson added: “That’s going to be a major gap in Tottenham’s squad and line-up. Ange [Postecoglou] is going to be answering ‘How do you replace a player like Harry Kane?’, and I think he’ll find it very difficult to find an answer.”