Transfer rumors messed with my head, admits Wilfried Zaha

“I had to put my head down and play my football. I would have been hindering my own progress by moaning and not wanting to perform properly. I have too much respect for my manager, the fans and my team-mates to treat them that way. It was a thing where 'OK, this hasn't happened but I've got to get on with it'. I've got to prove every time that I'm the top player I claim to be so I had to get over that quickly. Obviously my head was a bit all over the place at the beginning of the season but I had to nail down and just get on with it because the team deserved that," said Zaha.

Ever since his return to Palace, he has managed 35 goals in 189 matches and has turned into one of the top forwards at the Eagles. His quality attracted praise from a lot of pundits and prompted him to pursue a new club which offered European football. The 26-year-old was continuously linked to Arsenal and Everton throughout the window. Everton also placed an official bid of £40 million for the forward but the bid was rejected. Zaha too was keen to move away from Palace and also submitted a transfer request on the transfer deadline day. However, the London club didn’t grant him his wish to leave. Zaha had the desire to leave but now says that he remains focused on helping the club.