Wednesday 15 August 2018 19:09, UK
Wilfried Zaha has signed a contract extension with Crystal Palace until 2023.
Zaha came through Palace's youth academy and has been the club's Player of the Year for the past three seasons.
The 25-year-old, who scored in Palace's 2-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday, had been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park this summer but he is happy to be staying with his boyhood club.
"I'm very pleased," Zaha told the club's official website. "Obviously, I wanted to get it over and done with, so I can just focus on the season. I'm buzzing that we managed to get it sorted."
Zaha, who has been capped eight times by the Ivory Coast, scored nine goals and added three assists in 29 Premier League appearances last season.
He is in his second spell with Palace, after re-signing for the club in February 2015 following an ill-fated move to Manchester United, where he made just two appearances under David Moyes.
And Palace chairman Steve Parish is delighted he will be staying at Selhurst Park for the foreseeable future.
"Wilf grew up a stone's throw from Selhurst Park from the age of four," Parish said. "This agreement is yet another example of his lifelong commitment to the club, and our commitment to him.
"This is an amazing day for everyone here at Palace, our supporters and of course Wilf - and is richly deserved."
Borussia Dortmund were among the clubs interested in signing him this summer but Zaha insisted last week he is "all Palace" and Parish says that is exactly the attitude he has displayed throughout pre-season.
"We are all so committed this year to giving it our best shot," Parish said, following a summer that saw Palace sign Cheikhou Kouyate, Max Meyer, Jordan Ayew and Vicente Guaita.
"So that final piece of the jigsaw just to announce that and put all those stories to be really that we knew were not true, they were just rumour-mongering.
"Wilfried, the player that we have seen all summer, has just done everything proper and right and shown the respect that he has got for this football club."
"Wilfried, the player that we have seen all summer, has just done everything proper and right and shown the respect that he has got for this football club. He should be applauded for that with all the noise that was going on around him.
"And obviously today, we have settled everything in terms of his long-term future so we are absolutely ecstatic."
Zaha's goal against Fulham was his 23rd in the Premier League for Palace and saw him equal Chris Armstrong's 23-year-old record for the club.
Palace's host Liverpool on Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports, and Zaha is hoping to celebrate his new deal by becoming the club's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League.
Asked about breaking the record, Zaha said: "Hopefully Monday! It's nice to see that I've managed to reach that level and I can break it on Monday. It's nice to know all the effort I'm putting in is actually paying off."
