Eberechi Eze is close to making a move to Arsenal from Crystal Palace. The 27-year-old English left-winger has spent six seasons at Crystal Palace and Arsenal are reportedly ready to pay an amount close to 70 million GBP to sign him.
However, Tottenham Hotspur, who are looking to replace Son Heung-min in the long term, are also reportedly after Eze at the moment. The England international is thus in great demand now and could very well start spending time at a bigger club from the next season onwards.
Eberechi Eze has evolved as a fine player at Crystal Place
Eze has played in 166 matches for Crystal Palace in six seasons and scored 39 goals. He has also registered around 30 assists for the club and won the FA Cup last season. He made his England debut in 2023 and has earned 11 international caps so far.
Eze is an attacking midfielder who can play as a left-winger, but can also play as a No. 10. Arsenal are having Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard to play on the left, but are looking for a better option. Martinelli’s contract with the club runs till 2027 and the Brazilian has spent six seasons at the Emirates already.
However, aside from his speed, Martinelli probably does not have enough to his game to make a difference against big teams. Hence, Arsenal might need Eze’s composure on the ball in the midfield. Martin Odegaard, the Gunners’ No. 10, has a tendency to cut in through the inside-right channel and Arsenal need a player who can do the same through the inside-left one. Arsenal already have the brilliant Bukayo Saka and the talented Ethan Nwaneri on the right flank.
Trossard has not yet been able to cement his place in the starting XI despite spending a few seasons with the Gunners. Hence, the option to have another creative player in the midfield seems to be a good idea for the North Londoners.
Arsenal have a plethora of defensive players in their team and hence, adding Eze to the squad should be a step in the positive direction for them.
Eze will have to make his choice between two North London clubs
As Tottenham are also chasing him, Eze will probably have to make a choice between two North London clubs. The release clause set by Crystal Palace for the left-winger is reportedly 68 million GBP and Tottenham will have to take a call on that.
It is going to be a great battle for two clubs in desperate need for creative midfielders. As Son is seemingly past his prime and Timo Werner has not been able to make himself indispensable for the club, Spurs also need to sign at least a left-winger to get the balance of the team right. Tottenham already have Dejan Kulusevksi and Brennan Johnson, two fine players on the right.
Hence, the next few weeks should be very interesting as far as the career path of Eze is concerned. Both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will play in UEFA Champions League next season and hence, playing for either club will enable him to play in the most prestigious club tournament. However, as of now, Arsenal are probably the slight favourites to clinch the deal with Eberechi Eze.