The Athletic's Crystal Palace correspondent Matt Woosnam has offered an encouraging update on Vicente Guaita and his contract situation.

What's the word, then?

Well, Guaita - who arrived on a free transfer from Getafe - has been in exquisite form so far this season, keeping six clean sheets while making a number of point-winning saves for the Eagles, his fingertip stop from Nicolas Pepe and resulting block from Alexandre Lacazette being the latest in a string of fine interventions.

The Spaniard is amongst the most important players at Selhurst Park right now, and as a result, it could be presumed that the south Londoners want to keep hold of him for as long as possible.

That much looks achievable for a while with the 33-year-old's current deal set to expire next summer, although Woosnam has offered an encouraging update on his contract situation.

Option for another year

While writing a piece on Guaita's excellent work on the pitch and his commendable community work off it, Woosnam revealed a tiny nugget of information that should offer encouragement over the prospect of keeping the glovesman at Selhurst Park.

"There will no doubt be discussions over a new contract in the summer, if not before, with the 33-year-old’s current deal set to expire at the end of next season. Palace do, however, have an option to extend it by a further year, The Athletic understands."

The Athletic journalist detailed that Palace have the option to extend Guaita's contract for an extra year when his current deal runs out next summer, which is positive news amid a report from Spanish outlet AS which reveals that back-to-back Premier League champions Manchester City are interested in signing the Eagles' No.31.

When clubs of the Citizens' stature are sniffing around, concerns over keeping a star player may well arise given their pulling power.

Call yourself a Premier League expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

However, with Guaita's deal not set to run out until the summer of 2021, and also with Woosnam's revelation that these terms can be extended until the summer of 2022, there should be relief and encouragement over keeping the shot-stopper in south London during his best years.

In other news, this journalist has revealed just how much Cenk Tosun is costing Crystal Palace...