It doesn’t feel like hyperbole to boil the preview of Crystal Palace’s season down to a consideration of the Zaha situation. It was evident from last season’s performances how much they rely on him – games with and without him on the pitch were chalk and cheese.

The fact that the window slammed shut with Zaha still on the books is a huge triumph for the team. He is apparently still unhappy, but such is his importance that an unhappy Zaha is better than none at all – especially as he seems to have specified that his chagrin is aimed very much at the board rather than managers or the club as a whole. It feels as though there has been a gradual shift in transfer dealings over the last few years, where ‘smaller’ clubs no longer seem to give into inevitability in selling their best to others, which can only be a good thing for the overall balance of the league.

As for the season that is to come – Zaha’s presence should mean that Crystal Palace will be looking towards the middle third of the table rather than being concerned with the bottom. A supporting cast of players in Townsend, Meyer, Milivojevic and Camarasa are all players who would walk onto most of the teams that Palace will be scrapping it out with, and it Benteke they have an enigma that could become a difference maker.

Ceiling – 9th

Floor – 18th