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Report: Wilfried Zaha considers switching international allegiances after England snub

Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha celebrates scoring their second goal (REUTERS)
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The in-form Crystal Palace winger has failed to receive international recognition despite his stellar start to the season.

The Mirror report that Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha is considering switching his international allegiances from England to the Ivory Coast, after the in-form wide man was once again snubbed by the Three Lions selectors for November’s fixtures against Scotland and Spain.

Although Palace have endured an underwhelming start to this season’s Premier League campaign, with just 11 points taken from their opening 12 fixtures, the performances of intrepid winger Zaha have been a rare bright spark for the Eagles, with the mercurial 24-year-old finally recapturing a semblance of his best form.

Zaha’s individual displays have been of such a high-calibre that large sections of the Selhurst Park crowd have implored England to recall the former Manchester United youngster, who has not featured for the national side since 2013.

However, those calls appear to have fallen on deaf ears, with the Three Lions opting to select Zaha’s Palace teammate Andros Townsend ahead of him during the most recent international break.

Though Zaha has been capped twice by the national team in the past, both of the Palace man’s appearances arrived from substitutes’ bench during friendly games, meaning that it is still possible for him to switch his international allegiances, should he arrive at that decision.

The Mirror claim that Ivory Coast have twice been rebuffed after approaching Zaha about the possibility of representing them in the past, however, following his latest snub from the England squad, the 24-year-old is seriously considering making himself available for The Elephants.

Reports suggest that Southgate will be handed the England job on a full-time basis later this months after meeting with FA chiefs earlier this week and, with the former Middlesbrough manager opting against selecting Zaha in his two squad’s as manager thus far, the Eagles’ whiz kid may be better served taking on a fresh international challenge elsewhere.