Roy Hodgson has stated that Wilfried Zaha has developed a lot since making his debut for the England national team back in 2012.

Hodgson was the man who handed Zaha his England debut back in 2012 during a friendly clash against Sweden and the Crystal Palace boss has now claimed that the winger, who recently changed his allegiance to the Ivory Coast, has developed tremendously since his debut for the Three Lions five years ago.

Hodgson said: "He was a young lad who'd burst onto the scene. We were keen to have a look at him and give him a chance to show what he can do, but he was really then just a pure, raw talent.

"It got him a transfer to Manchester United; none other than Alex Ferguson identified him and paid a lot of money for him, but that didn't work out quite so well, so over the last couple of the years he's come back to the club, that was his club, buckled down and become a very different player.

"Now he's a much more all-round, physically-stronger player, aware of what's required in position than he was six years ago. He deserves a lot of credit for that.

"He was very strong: that's a strong back three. Gary Cahill's very strong, [David] Luiz is, [Cesar] Azpilicueta is, and yet they didn't manage to knock Wilf off the ball on the several occasions he was wrestling with them. That's a very different kettle of fish to the winger I had against Sweden."