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With 10 goals and eight assists to the winger’s name this campaign, Crystal Palace can expect to batten down the hatches in preparation for plenty of interest in Wilfried Zaha this summer, with the number 11 having expressed his desire to play Champions League football before the end of his career.

Losing the £80m-rated star would be a huge blow to Palace and they would have to do some big business in the transfer market to find a player who can replace the Ivorian’s influence on the front foot.

That being said, they already have plenty of talent on the books in order to be able to succeed without any additions, with the likes of Max Meyer and Andros Townsend capable of causing damage.

Palace’s greatest strength currently lies in their counter-attacking threat, to which Zaha is essential, so the speedster’s departure could mean that Roy Hodgson is forced to tweak his approach somewhat. The former England boss is fairly orthodox in terms of formations, preferring a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3, although Zaha’s departure would mean a narrower 4-1-2-1-2 could be preferable.

This could see the aforementioned Townsend partner Christian Benteke up front – the former has plenty of legs to get up with and around the latter, who excels in the air and has shown glimpses of his 2016/17 form in recent weeks – while Meyer could be deployed in the 10, where he would have more license to roam and link up with the forwards.

The German has been largely utilised as a left-midfielder at Selhurst Park but it’s clear he would benefit from a more central role.

Elsewhere, Jeffrey Schlupp has been a different beast since being converted into a central-midfielder and, by starting the Ghanian alongside Cheikhou Kouyate, Hodgson would have the speed, power and work-rate he requires in midfield.

Should Crystal Palace keep hold of Max Meyer this summer? Harvey Jones discusses in the video below…

Of course, Luka Milivojevic would continue at the base of the diamond, where he can protect the back four, which should remain the same.

Another plus of a narrower formation would mean that Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has earned plenty of plaudits for his defensive output this campaign, has more license to get forward and cause problems, as he and Patrick van Aanholt would be crucial in offering width.

Currently, the 21-year-old has just two assists to his name this season but, with Townsend deployed as a striker, he would have much more room to get up and down the flank. His attacking contributions would surely soar and this would dramatically increase both his value to Palace and his own England prospects.