Crystal Palace Agree Deal With Arsenal For Ebereche Eze, Medical Booked For Friday

Crystal Palace Agree Deal With Arsenal For Eberechi Eze, Medical Booked For Friday

By Segun Adelokiki

Arsenal have reached an agreement with Crystal Palace to sign forward Eberechi Eze in a £67.5m deal, after hijacking Tottenham Hotspur’s move for the player.

The Gunners will pay £60m upfront plus £7.5m in add-ons, with personal terms now close to completion. Eze, 27, is expected to undergo his medical on Friday.

Spurs believed they had secured the signing of the England international on Wednesday, but Arsenal reignited their interest following Kai Havertz’s injury and swooped in at the final stage.

Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol described the development as a major coup for Mikel Arteta’s side.

“Today’s a great day to be an Arsenal supporter, they have pulled off a real coup here.

“At the last minute, they matched Spurs’ offer, and it’s important to remember Eze himself is an Arsenal supporter,” he said on Thursday.

Eze, who grew up supporting Arsenal and was briefly part of their academy before being released at 13, will still feature for Palace in their Europa Conference League qualifier against Fredrikstad on Thursday night to bid farewell to fans.

Despite featuring in the qualifier, UEFA rules allow him to play in the Champions League for Arsenal this season.

Spurs had considered including Richarlison in their proposal to free up space for another forward, but their hopes ended when Arsenal stepped in.

Solhekol added: “Ultimately, everyone knows Eze is an Arsenal fan, as are his whole family. Why didn’t Spurs trigger the release clause? It might’ve needed paying in one lump sum. They might’ve waited until it expired to get a better deal.”