Crystal Palace warn Chelsea last-gasp Wilfried Zaha transfer bid would be 'ridiculous'

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish said it would be “ridiculous” if a club came in with a late bid to sign Wilfried Zaha before today’s 5pm deadline.

The club have made it clear throughout the summer that they do not want to sell Zaha after Chelsea registered an interest in the winger. Tottenham have wanted him in the past but, in this window, said the 25-year-old is not one of their targets.

Zaha trained with the rest of the Palace squad at their Beckenham base this morning as the deadline approached.A bid for him in the final hours of the window would leave Palace with little time to replace him and the chairman says clubs considering an 11th-hour move would be wasting their time.

Parish, speaking last night, said: “To go the whole window and only think about it now to come in with a bid would be ridiculous. Wilfried is very important to us and it is great we have kept the squad together. We have managed to add and that [keeping Zaha] has made it easier because we have not had much to do.”

Borussia Dortmund are also interested and can bid until the window closes for the rest of Europe later this month. Palace would not entertain an offer after the window because they could not replace him. Meanwhile, the club were today working on a season-long loan for Swansea forward Jordan Ayew, with a view to a permanent transfer next summer. Ayew has forced a move from Swansea after their relegation last season. Parish said: “We have had a positive window and have a good squad. We are pleased and fans seem pleased. The test of your transfer window is at the end of the season.”