Vicente Guaita hits out at Crystal Palace after being left out amid ‘refusal to play’

The ongoing saga between Crystal Palace and Vicente Guaita took another turn ahead of the Eagles’ match with Sheffield United.

As expected, the Spanish goalkeeper was not named in Roy Hodgson’s squad for their Premier League opener having, according to the manager, refused to play during pre-season.

Guaita, 36, is said to want a transfer away from Selhurst Park having lost his place to Sam Johnstone and Remi Matthews was named as the substitute goalkeeper on Saturday.

However, Guaita responded to Palace’s team news announcement on Twitter and appeared to suggest he was being denied the chance to play.

“Where is my name?” he tweeted.

“So how can I play for Palace?”

Eagles boss Hodgson explained the situation regarding the goalkeeper in midweek.

“[Johnstone] is the only choice at the moment because Guaita is disenchanted with the club and has said he would like to move on,” Hodgson told the Scandinavian broadcaster Viaplay.

“He’s refused to play in our games so far. A complication is that he has a year’s contract.

“It’s up to the club to decide, not him. He’s made it clear to everybody he doesn’t want to be here and compete with Sam Johnstone.

“I can’t physically make Guaita play but it’s not certain the club will accept his refusal to play and they’ll let him go.”

Guaita has one year left on his Palace contract.

Crystal Palace are in ongoing talks to sign ‘expandable’ winger – €15m needed

Crystal Palace are a new contender to sign Sporting’s Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, according to today’s Record.

The Eagles are in the market for a winger after losing Wilfried Zaha as a free agent and have set their sights on the 19-year-old, who can operate on both wings.

Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor has reportedly asked the Lions about the conditions to sign the Ghanaian.

It’s claimed ‘conversations are taking place’ between the two clubs for Fatawu. He was recently receiving interest from a few Portuguese teams, who wanted to take him on loan.

The wideman’s deal expires in 2027, but another factor could favour Crystal Palace. The newspaper states Sporting manager Rúben Amorim has left Fatawu out of his plans for the new season. This has seen him currently train with their B team.

Record say Sporting consider him to be ‘expandable’ and value him at €15m. In addition to this, the Portuguese club want to receive 20% of the fee from any future sale.

Fatawu prefers to operate on the right wing, a position currently occupied by Michael Olise at Selhurst Park. Olise has been linked with a move away from the London club in recent times.