Andros Townsend has dismissed a tabloid story involving Wilfried Zaha having a training-ground truce as “fake news”.
The Sun reports that Mamadou Sakho called a meeting with first-team players to demand full commitment from wantaway forward Zaha.
The Ivory Coast star was reportedly angry with the Palace hierarchy after being denied moves to Everton and Arsenal over the summer.
However, Townsend reached out on Twitter to debunked the Sun’s story which took up the entire back page with the headline: ‘ZAHA BACK, SAKH ‘N CRACK’.
“The whole back page for something that categorically didn’t happen #FakeNews,” said Townsend.
Manager Roy Hodgson, who had sent Zaha home on Thursday because he thought the player’s head was not right, was apparently unaware of the gathering.
Zaha got a positive response from the Palace supporters when came off the bench during Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to the Toffees.
He signed a five-year contract last summer but could seek a move away when the winter transfer window opens.
Here is tomorrow’s @SunSport back page: Zaha agrees to a truce after sensational players’ meeting at Crystal Palacehttps://t.co/1yZkyDzx5h pic.twitter.com/nkDei47UoL
— Sun Sport (@SunSport) August 12, 2019