ROY HODGSON says Crystal Palace have a fight on their hands to keep Michael Olise amid interest from Manchester City and Chelsea.
The Eagles boss also admitted that chairman Steve Parish and sporting director Dougie Freedman have a lot of work to do before the transfer window closes.
Palace have already lost Wilfried Zaha on a free transfer to Galatasaray, while some senior figures, including James McArthur and Luka Milivojevic, also left the club at the end of their contracts.
Jefferson Lerma, who joined on a free transfer from Bournemouth, is the only new arrival so far, with a £17million deal for Brazilian teenager Matheus Franca close to completion.
Olise is out for the start of the season following a hamstring injury picked up at the Under-21 Euros.
Asked about the loss of Zaha, Hodgson said: “We had two outstanding wingers who were amongst the best in the league.
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“Michael Olise on the right side and Wilf on the left.
“We don’t have Wilf anymore and there’s even a slight doubt over Michael’s future because club’s are circling around him and we’re going to have a fight on our hands to make sure he stays with us.
“We’ve lost five senior players from last season and brought one in – Jefferson Lerma, he’s good and we’re happy to have him in – but there is still that hole of five senior players in the squad, two of whom were two of the real stars of the team.”
Hodgson named a strong starting XI for their pre-season draw with Sevilla, but says those players will need help this season.
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He added: “There’s a bit of work for the chairman and sporting director to do between now and the end of August.
“Because the team we put out was in our opinion, at this moment in time, our best team, but we don’t have the strength behind that team that we had last year with all those senior players we lost.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
