Crystal Palace assistant manager, Osian Roberts says the club wishes nothing but the best for trio Jordan Ayew, Wilfried Zaha, and Cheikhou Kouyate while away with their national teams for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.
However, the manager says the club hopes these players who are key for the English Premier League club will be back as soon as possible to help the team in the remainder of the 2021/22 season.
“We wish them all well in the Afcon. It’s a really important tournament,” Roberts who sat in for Patrick Vieira for the game against West Ham shared in his post-match interview.
The Palace assistant coach continued, “I came here to Palace from the African continent, having been Technical Director of the Moroccan Football Federation. I know the great work that’s going on the African continent to aspire to be at the best level possible.
“We wish our players all the best out in Cameroon. We want all our players back as soon as possible, albeit if they are successful that might take a little longer.
“It’s an incredible tournament that we’ll be watching closely, but obviously we want the three players back in the squad as soon as possible for us.”
At the 2021 AFCON, Jordan Ayew will represent Ghana, Wilfried Zaha will play for the Ivory Coast, while Cheikhou Kouyate features for favourites Senegal.