Wednesday 12 April 2017 08:12, UK
Chairman Steve Parish is confident Wilfried Zaha will remain at Crystal Palace amid reported interest from other clubs.
Zaha has been a standout performer for Palace this season, directly contributing to five goals in Palace's last five games, including two assists in the 3-0 win over Arsenal on Monday Night Football.
Parish says the Ivory Coast international is central to the club's plans for the future after a disappointing season.
"It will be really hard for him to go in the summer, really difficult," Parish told Sky Sports News HQ.
"We're confident [he will stay]. Wilfred is focused on the end of the season and keeping us in the division. He's been here since he was very young. We'll sit down at the end of the season and I'm very confident we can keep him.
"We want to go up the league. We thought the season would have gone better than it has turned out but we still have the chance to finish relatively high. I think we're only three or four points off 10th.
"We're looking to improve the squad and improve the squad and Wilfried is an intrinsic part of what we're doing."
Another player that has impressed for Palace recently is Liverpool loanee Mamadou Sakho, with boss Sam Allardyce showering praise on the Frenchman on Monday night after helping Palace keep their fourth clean sheet in six matches.
Parish says he will sit down with Sakho at the end of the season with a view to trying to convince the France international to remain at Selhurst Park, should Liverpool make the centre-back available for a permanent transfer.
"Of course we would love to sit down and talk but I have no idea of Liverpool want to sell him," Parish said.
"At the moment we are really pleased he is here on loan. He is a top, top character. I can't tell you how impressed I am with him as a person as well as a player. We're very pleased to have him and with the effort and the professionalism that he has shown
"Hopefully we can stay in the league and then who knows? We'll have that discussion at the end of the season."
Parish was speaking at Selhurst Park at an event celebrating the rebranding of the Crystal Palace Foundation.
He added: "There is so much good being done that's being done by all Premier League clubs with their foundations but we felt that our one was a little bit dry so we've renamed the Palace Foundation, Palace for Life.
"We think it will capture the imagination a little bit more. We've put a little bit more money into it, we've got a new CEO and a new chairman and we really want to start publicising it and fundraise more and show people the great work that us and all Premeir League clubs are doing within the community as a force for good.
"We think football can touch people in ways that other things can't particularly with youngsters."
