According to a report in the Guardian by Ed Aarons, Andy Hunter and Jacob Steinberg, Arsenal are interested in a move for Crystal Palace winger Eberechi Eze this summer.
The England international, who will celebrate his 26th birthday on Saturday, is valued at £60 million by Crystal Palace, with whom he still has three years left on his current contract, while both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City are also interested in a move.
This could mean more bad news for Palace supporters, with their other superstar attacker Michael Olise already on the move, set to join Bayern Munich for £50 million, hence why the Eagles are in a strong position to demand an astronomical fee for Eze.
Why is Eberechi Eze a man in demand?
As anyone who’s ever seen Eberechi Eze play knows, he is a player with immeasurable talent who is simply a joy to watch.
He was actually in Arsenal’s academy between the ages of eight and 13, before also representing Fulham, Reading and Millwall at youth level, bursting on the scene at Queens Park Rangers, thereby earning a £17 million move to Crystal Palace in 2020.
For the Eagles, he has scored 26 goals and provided 17 assists in 124 appearances, on target 11 times in the Premier League last season, including netting five times in his final six appearances of the campaign as Oliver Glasner’s concluded in scintillating form.
Eze is currently at the European Championships with England, coming off the bench for a 21 minute cameo against Denmark during that now infamously drab 1-1 draw at Deutsche Bank Park last Thursday, thereby earning his fifth senior cap, having debuted in Malta last June.
Thus, any move for him will almost certainly have to wait until the three Lions are dumped out the competition which, given how Gareth Southgate’s team are playing, may not be too far away.
Would he fit in at Arsenal?
In many different ways, Eberechi Eze’s profile fits what Arsenal are looking for, price-tag aside.
He’s relatively young and English, which could be useful if current home-grown players, Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, do depart. While the Gunners have shown a willingness to buy English, Premier League-based players in recent years, including Ramsdale, Declan Rice and Benjamin White, something they’d been reticent to do beforehand.
Eze is also versatile; he could be deployed on either flank or centrally, which makes him a player Mikel Arteta would surely love to have at his disposal, but getting a deal over the line is another matter.
