Patrick Vieira asked about futures of Crystal Palace duo – both set to be free agents in the summer

Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira has spoken about the futures of Jordan Ayew and James McArthur, with both set to be out of contract at the end of the season.

McArthur, 34, joined the Eagles in 2014 from Wigan Athletic and was a mainstay in the side under the French World Cup winner this season until he suffered a hamstring injury which is to keep him out for the rest of the year.

Ayew, who won Palace’s Player of the Season in 2020, joined the South Londoners from Swansea after an initial season-long loan.

Vieira said: “What is really important for myself and all those players is to concentrate on our next game.

“We will get the time where we will find the right time to talk about it. But at the moment, the concentration and focus that I want from the players is about the next game against Aston Villa.”

While Will Hughes returned to the matchday squad for the draw with Burnley, the 26-year-old midfielder remained on the bench for the entire match and has yet to make his Palace debut.

“He arrived a little bit late, and he needed to catch up a little bit physically because he didn’t train with the first team when he was at Watford,” said Vieira. “He did the catch-up – he had some bad back injuries. Now he has been training and has been training well.

“On the other side, there were some players who were doing well in the midfield, so it was quite difficult for him to get time. He deserves his chance, and I will give it to him. He just needs to keep working well, as he has been doing for the past couple of weeks, and he will have the opportunity to play.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD