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Roy Hodgson insists he has 'never heard' of rumoured Crystal Palace target Josh Maja
Roy Hodgson claimed he had “never heard” of Sunderland striker Josh Maja as the Crystal Palace manager reiterated his desire to work with the players already at the club. Palace are among a number of teams reportedly linked to leading scorer Maja after the 20-year-old rejected a new contract with the League One club last week.
The London-born forward has scored 15 times in all competitions this season and would provide firepower for Hodgson’s goal-shy team who converted just one of 33 shots in their narrow win over 10-man Grimsby Town.
But Hodgson offered no indication £5 million-rated Maja was seriously under consideration, at least not by himself. “I’ve never heard of him. I don’t follow Sunderland and his name has not been mentioned to me,” he said. “I’m not going to stand here and answer questions about individuals and names.
“The fact is it’s not my job to scout players. I’m sure if you ask our scouting department and our head of scouting about Josh Maja, he would tell you chapter and verse about him. But no one has mentioned his name to me, I don’t spend my time watching Sunderland play.”
Crystal Palace pulled out of a move for Dominic Solanke due to fitness concerns, with the Liverpool striker instead signing for Bournemouth.
When asked whether he was satisfied with the targets being put forward by the club, Hodgson bullishly replied: “I am.”
He added: “We’re 14th and with a little bit of luck we would be even higher. As long as our goal remains to get as high up the table as we can and away from the relegation zone then I would rather go with what I’ve got because I’ve been working with them for quite a period of time than to just go with someone for the sake of taking them.”