Wilfried Zaha is to make a “substantial financial contribution” to support the development of Crystal Palace Ladies’ amateur players.

The FA Women’s Championship side used Twitter to thank Zaha, who last month signed a new contract with the club, for his “stunning gesture”.

The 25-year-old forward replied by saying “no problem, happy to help”.

A statement from Crystal Palace Ladies, published on the club’s website, said: “We are delighted to announce that Wilf Zaha has contacted the club to make a substantial financial contribution to support the development of our amateur players.

“Everyone knows what Crystal Palace means to Wilf and he wants to give the same opportunities to the next generation of aspiring players at Palace Ladies that he enjoyed when coming up through junior teams.

In a sport that is too often shown through negative comment & sentiment, we've today been inspired by a stunning gesture from @wilfriedzaha

Demonstrating real desire to help develop football ambition within his club.Sincerest thanks to a gent who knows what it means to be @cpfc — Crystal Palace L.F.C (@PalaceLadiesFC) September 5, 2018

“We are grateful for Wilf’s support and for the ongoing support of Crystal Palace football club and Utilita Energy, which enables our senior team to play in the FA Women’s Championship.”

Zaha’s donation follows an exclusive story in the Guardian this week which statedsome reserve players with Palace Ladies had been told they faced not being able to represent the club any longer if they could not each raise £250 in sponsorship, or put up the money themselves.