Rarely a day goes by without Crystal Palace facing the same old questions about Wilfried Zaha's future at Selhurst Park, but Roy Hodgson may have a more urgent matter on his hands if recent reports are to be believed...

What's the story?

Recent reports had revealed that newly-promoted Premier League side West Bromwich Albion were interested in signing Andros Townsend in the summer transfer window.

However, a move failed to materialise, and the 29-year-old stayed at Selhurst Park. But his future is far from certain, as he has entered the final year of his current contract, which is set to expire in June 2021.

According to The Mirror, as relayed by HITC, Hodgson wants to give the winger a new deal, which would prevent him from leaving for free next summer.

Now, Palace chairman Steve Parish must convince Townsend to sign a new contract, as he has played in every single minute of Palace's six Premier League games this season so far.

Shrewd move?

As far as we are concerned, Townsend has turned out to be one of the most reliable players at the club in recent years. In fact, he last suffered an injury during his time at Tottenham Hotspur, which speaks volumes about his professionalism and fitness levels. The former England international, who previously played for Newcastle United, Queens Park Rangers, and Watford, among others, made 93 appearances for Spurs, and scored 11 goals and supplied 15 assists in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

He has since gone on to make over 150 appearances for Palace, and played 24 games in the Premier League last term, whilst he scored one goal, supplied one assist, and made 1.6 dribbles per game, as per WhoScored. Not exactly numbers that you would expect to see from a right winger, but he has already bettered his tally this term, as he has scored one goal and supplied two assists in the English top flight so far.

Townsend played some of the best football of his career so far for Palace in the 2017/18 season, where he scored twice and created seven assists in the Premier League, and made 1.7 shots, 1.8 key passes and 2.3 dribbles per game, via WhoScored, whilst Hodgson hailed him as a "fantastic" player for his remarkable efforts.

It's safe to say that Palace enjoyed a summer spending spree, as they recruited the likes of Eberechi Eze and Michy Batshuayi to bolster their attack. After a bright start to the season, their performances soon tailed off, as they suffered back-to-back defeats to Everton and Chelsea, before bouncing back with a 2-1 win over Fulham.

SofaScore gave Townsend a high grade of 7.6 for his heroics at Craven Cottage - he created one big chance, made three key passes, as well as won eleven out of twenty ground duels, whilst football.london gave him a similar score, claiming he "put in a couple of dangerous crosses in the first half, including one from which Zaha should have done better. His work rate and a great pass for Batshuayi led to the second goal."

One thing's for sure, the Palace chairman must tie the £8.55m-rated ace down to a new deal. Whether or not he will be able to produce the same level of consistency for the rest of the season remains to be seen, but, at this stage, it's surely a win-win situation. Get it done, Eagles.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace ace Jairo Riedewald dominated the midfield battle against Fulham...