Crystal Palace have shown that they are capable of spending substantial amounts of money to bring new players to Selhurst Park who can strengthen their squad, particularly during last summer’s transfer window.

However, one of the Eagles’ most valuable assets at this moment in time is a player on whom they didn’t need to spend a penny to bring to the club.

Following in the footsteps of players like Gareth Southgate and Wayne Routledge in graduating from the club’s youth academy, Wilfried Zaha made his senior debut for the south London club back in March 2010 during a 2-1 defeat against Cardiff City in the Championship under former Eagles manager Paul Hart.

Since then, the Ivory Coast international has gone on to make 420 appearances for Palace across all competitions, scoring 78 goals and providing 73 assists along the way, showing how important a figure he has been for the club.

This season has seen the winger score nine goals and provide one assist in 24 Premier League appearances, racking up a higher average of shots per game (1.9) than any other Palace player, showing that he has been one of Patrick Vieira’s deadliest figures and a real handful for opponents.

The 29-year-old – who is currently earning £130k-per-week according to Salary Sport – has also made 10 successful dribbles which have led to a shot at goal, putting him in the top 10 of players in the Premier League for that statistic ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling among many others.

In October 2010, just a few months after he burst onto the scene at Palace with his senior breakthrough, Transfermarkt had Zaha’s market value listed as £675k. It now stands at £36m, highlighting a vast increase of 5,233%, making him by far the most valuable player at Selhurst Park and among the top 50 most valuable players in the Premier League.

Described as a “game-changer” for Palace by former Eagles manager Roy Hodgson, Zaha has undoubtedly made himself an icon for the club and a crucial figure for the team in terms of his consistent goals and assists. The south London outfit certainly hit the jackpot by unearthing and developing him from a young prospect to a fully-fledged Premier League figure.

In other news: Palace could’ve had their own Yaya Toure in “special” 26-year-old whose value has rocketed 300%