Roy Hodgson reveals ‘disenchanted’ Crystal Palace man wants to leave and is refusing to play matches
Roy Hodgson has revealed that Vicente Guaita has informed Crystal Palace that he no longer wants to play for the club. This news comes as a significant blow to Palace, especially with the new Premier League season just days away. Guaita, who has been the first-choice goalkeeper at Selhurst Park for the majority of his five-year tenure, has expressed his desire to leave the club amid interest from his former team, Getafe.
During the latter part of last season, Sam Johnstone took over Guaita’s position in goal. When asked if Johnstone would continue as the first-choice goalkeeper, Hodgson spoke openly about the situation with Guaita. “At the moment, he’s the only one,” said the Palace manager. “Guaita is disenchanted with the club. He has made it clear that he wants to move on and is refusing to play. The decision ultimately lies with the club, not him. However, the current situation is that he has made it clear to everyone that he does not want to be here and compete with Sam Johnstone.”
Hodgson acknowledged that many players around the world would prefer to leave their clubs, but when a player signs a contract, they commit themselves to the needs of that club. The manager admitted that when a player no longer wants to play for the club, it creates a significant amount of friction. He expressed curiosity about how the situation will resolve itself and whether the club will accept Guaita’s refusal to play as a reason to let him go.
Guaita joined Palace on a free transfer in 2019 and signed a contract extension in January. However, he was absent from Palace’s 2-0 friendly victory over Lyon, raising concerns about his commitment to the club. If Guaita does leave, it will be a major blow to Palace, who have already lost Wilfried Zaha on a free transfer to Galatasaray this year.
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Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has revealed that one of his players is hoping to leave the club and is refusing to play matches due to feelings of disillusionment.
Speaking after Palace’s 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Monday, Hodgson said that the unnamed player is unhappy at the club and had requested to leave in the January transfer window. Hodgson also noted that the player had not reported for training recently and is in effect AWOL.
Hodgson hit out at the player, saying, “I think it’s extremely unprofessional and a way of dealing with problems and disagreements which I don’t favour. I feel let down when somebody behaves in this way. It’s not on.”
It is yet to be seen how the situation will be handled, and although Hodgson has stated that he wants the player to stay, it is understood that the player in question is desperate to leave and is unlikely to cooperate with Hodgson in the immediate future.
It is already a challenging time for Crystal Palace and this unwelcome distraction has done little to improve the mood around the club. It remains to be seen if the player’s wishes will be granted or if Hodgson is able to influence a change of heart. The coming weeks promise to be interesting for Palace supporters.