Wilfried Zaha admits his ‘head was all over the place’ after failure to secure move away from Crystal Palace

The Ivorian was linked with Arsenal and Everton in the summer but his move failed to materialise

Wilfried Zaha admits his “head was all over the place” after seeing a move away from Crystal Palace fail to materialise this summer.

The Ivorian forward was strongly linked to Arsenal and Everton, but the Eagles stood firm.

Having signed a five-year contract worth £130,000-a-week last year, Zaha was forced to continue under Roy Hodgson.

And with Palace now up to fourth, Zaha admits his respect for his manager, fans and teammates meant he was determined to not let his disappointment affect his performances.

“I had to put my head down and play my football,” Zaha told BBC Africa. “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.”

Zaha admits he was affected by the speculation over his future (Getty) (Getty Images)

Zaha admits he will now "see how it goes" at Palace in regards to his future.

The 26-year-old will feature for the Ivory Coast during the international break against Congo and Niger.