Zaha is happy at Palace despite Roma links: Vieira

Media reports in the UK may have linked Crystal Palace's star player Wilfried Zaha with a move to AS Roma, but Eagles manager Patrick Vieira insisted yesterday that the forward is happy at the club.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of today's clash against Liverpool at the National Stadium, the Frenchman said: "We are in a period of speculation. What is important for me and the football club is that Wilfried has come back on time and he's working well to have a good season.

"What is going on in the papers is hard for us to control. What I know is that he's happy in our football club and he's looking forward to having a good season."

Academy product Zaha, who scored 14 goals in 33 appearances in the English Premier League last season, did not make the trip here, along with several other players.

A move to Roma, who are coached by Jose Mourinho, will present an opportunity to play in the Europa League next season.

Zaha has been a pivotal part of the Eagles. Last season, the Ivorian helped Palace finish 12th in the league and reach the FA Cup semi-finals after a difficult start to their campaign.

While Vieira admitted that the upcoming season will be tougher than the previous one, he stressed that the club will look to keep improving the squad.

The 46-year-old added that it was unlikely England midfielder Conor Gallagher will return to the Eagles after an impressive loan spell from Chelsea last season. But Palace have already started recruiting for the next season.

Mali midfielder Cheick Doucoure, 22, has arrived from Lens after excelling as they finished seventh in Ligue 1 last season while highly rated English winger Malcolm Ebiowei, 18, has signed from Derby County.

Vieira said: "Obviously when the market is still open, we are like every other team in the Premier League who try to bring players. We wanted to bring a couple of players and Cheick is one of them."

The former Arsenal captain and World Cup winner knows that today's game against Liverpool will be tough. Besides Zaha, other key players such as Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi and Michael Olise are also not in their 26-man squad.

But he insisted that this was still an important part of the team's preparations for the season and backed his young players to get the most out of the experience.

Vieira said: "As a manager the best preparation would be to have all the players around. But we are happy to be here and play Liverpool tomorrow. It's part of the process to go through, we need to leave players behind. Some need to catch up with training, some need to stay at home to play football matches. For younger players, it's a good experience.

"We are facing a team that will be there at the top to challenge the title. This will give me a good idea of where we are."