Crystal Palace signing Wilfried Zaha to a new deal is no surprise in a relationship that brings the best out of each other

The homegrown boy playing for the homegrown coach was handed a contract by the homegrown chairman at a club that is keeping itself anchored in its roots

The sun is shining on Wilfried Zaha and Crystal Palace right now (PA)

In the simplest of readings, this latest contract signed between Crystal Palace and Wilfried Zaha is an agreement - a recognition - that both sides are better with each other than without.

Palace have seen the world without him - the Tony Pulis season in 2013/14 and a spell of games during Zaha’s injury last year when they failed to pick up a single point - and Zaha has experienced the growing pains of the Manchester United bench and a miserable spell on loan at Cardiff as David Moyes’ season at the Theatre of Dreams swirled and howled into nightmare.

Neither wants to go back to life without the other right now, not when the price of failure is so high and both sides can simply get what they want by reaffirming a mutual commitment.

Zaha will be 26 in November and is entering his peak, something that won’t have been lost on those who watched him taunt and torment Fulham on Saturday.

Zaha scored the deciding goal in Palace's opening-day win (Getty Images)

The Premier League newcomers were the first club of the season to be infuriated and tangled up by the Ivorian forward , whose twinkle-toes and fiery attitude work in tandem to spark running battles with frustrated opponents, but they won’t be the last. It was Cyrus Christie last weekend and it will be Trent Alexander-Arnold on Monday night when Liverpool are in town. It does not matter who it is because Zaha has already demonstrated time and again that he can perform against any team at this level. He has shrugged off questions over his end product by repeatedly deciding games on his own. It is why Palace are happy to pay him like a superstar, because at their level there could be no bigger superstar.

As the global transfer market was tamed by a shorter window and a plateauing in cash flow that owes to the cyclical multi-year nature of Premier League TV deals, fewer big deals materialised this summer and that worked in Palace’s favour when it came to keeping Zaha at Selhurst Park.

Tottenham and Chelsea were credited with interests but senior sources at Spurs say that despite bidding for the Ivorian a couple of summers ago, he wasn’t a target in the summer of 2018. Chelsea and Palace had discussions over the off-season about many players but the Blues were never close to making formal steps towards acquiring Zaha, especially once Eden Hazard’s future was secured.

Regardless, the problem that any buying club would find with Palace is an owner who is determined not to lose his man, a player settled in London who has been burnt once by moving to a Champions League club in flux, and a sell-on clause that disincentivises Palace from selling Zaha. There are ways around these sorts of clauses, usually by including players in an exchange, but swap deals are complex to do and thus very rarely completed. Those in the hot seat at Selhurst Park have no desire to even contemplate that sort of deal and instead have focused on rewarding their star man with an increased salary that reflects that with him in the team they’ll keep feasting on the Premier League’s TV riches.

The next question for Zaha, after saying yes to a new contract extension , is how great he wants to be?

In committing to another five years as a Palace player, Zaha signed a deal that will make him the best-paid player in the club’s history and gives him the opportunity to become the club’s greatest-ever player.

Lombardo is a player some Palace fans believe to be their best-ever (GETTY IMAGES)

Depending on their vintage, Palace fans might consider Peter Taylor, Vince Hilaire, Jim Cannon, Geoff Thomas, Kenny Sansom, Ian Wright or Attilio Lombardo to be the finest player in the club’s history. But if Zaha continues to be one of the most dangerous attacking players in the top flight, at a time when the top flight is more absurdly loaded with talent than it has ever been, then the Ivorian international can spend the next five seasons ensuring he will be remembered as Palace’s best.

That is what the club want, and why they have made him the face of the brand. ‘South London and Proud’ is the slogan of a club saved, in part, and now run by a man who made his money in marketing and knows how to craft brilliant optics. “I’m all Palace,” said Zaha as the club announced the deal, hammering home the theme.

Roy Hodgson has made Zaha a key part of his Palace team (Getty)

In signing Zaha and Roy Hodgson to new contracts this week, Palace have retained a piece of their soul - young and old - that connects them with their community and that brings them on-field success.

In a league where clubs and owners so often pay lip service to match-going support and where leveraged buyouts and cashing in for profit are easier and more attractive, Palace have chosen to invest in their own people to keep their own version of success rolling.

For Zaha, it is an opportunity to go down in the history of the club where he made his debut. For both, it is the continuation of a relationship that simply works for all involved.