Earlier in the week, I watched a highlights video of Wilfried Zaha’s debut appearance for Manchester United in a friendly against an Asian team sponsored by Singha beer.

Firstly, it’s a very fine beer I enjoyed during my time in Thailand and if any of the drink's representatives are reading this and looking for ambassadors I’m available and cheap.

Secondly, despite the horrible kit Wilf was wearing (and the video clip's terrible music), I felt myself compulsively cheering him on. And I know I'll feel the exact same way in his every performance for the Red Devils next season - except his two games against us, naturally.

In a way I'm glad the rumours surrounding a possibly loan return to Palace have been quashed. Again. Like all experiences of loss or grief we need to accept it and move on. He’s just too good for us.

As a result, aside from the worryingly overlooked defence, I still feel we crucially need to strengthen the wings this summer. Yes Glenn's out for months and we need to worry about that too, but he would have scored a fraction of his goals without the sublime service from the flanks in 2012-13.

Yannick Bolasie is entertaining and occasionally magical and Jerome Thomas should be a very useful and experienced signing, but it seems as if they both share the curse of being somewhat erratic, either psychologically or physically, and we need more than a reliance on two temperamental wide men.

Only as a very last resort do I want to see Johnny Williams or Stephen Dobbie wastefully deployed out wide, so we need at least back-up wingers beyond Bolasie/Thomas to provide the sort of crosses than Murray so gratefully gobbled up in the Championship. Especially if Dwight Gayle is to have a hope of hitting the ground running.

Wide men Elliot Grandin and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie appeared on trial for the Eagles in Saturday’s friendly against Dagenham & Redbridge, which shows Holloway is considering the situation, although having said that Bolasie was disconcertingly and mysteriously absent from the squad.

Whoever else we settle on to barricade the gaping Zaha-shaped hole will undoubtedly be a step down. But that’s not quite as bad as it sounds; someone at our level rather than a mercurial prodigy could still be very handy indeed.

All of the Time will return on August 19.