Crystal Palace have confirmed that, after an entire summer of umming and ahhing, Wilfried Zaha has signed a new long-term contract at the club.
Zaha was repeatedly linked with expensive moves away from Selhurst Park to the likes of Spurs and Chelsea, and he didn’t exactly help quell the speculation by posting several vaguely cryptic messages on social media in the meantime.
However, all that is at an end now, with news that the 25-year-old winger has put pen to paper on a five-year extension…
HE’S ALL PALACE!
We’re delighted to announce that @wilfriedzaha has signed a contract extension, keeping him at #CPFC 🦅 until 2⃣0⃣2⃣3⃣
More: https://t.co/P6klx4sWCC pic.twitter.com/PRpNMuGVob
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) 15 August 2018
To postulate that Zaha is Palace’s most valuable player is an absolute nailed-on no-brainer.
According to Opta stats, the Eagles haven’t mustered a single point from games in which Zaha hasn’t started since the start of the 2017/18 season, with the team often looking utterly bereft of ideas without having their catalyst on the pitch.
In Cheikhou Kouyate, Max Meyer and Jordan Ayew, Palace have done some decent business over the past month, but tying down Zaha for the foreseeable is by far the most emphatic and important signing of all.