Arsenal have agreed a £67.5m deal to sign Eberechi Eze after hijacking Tottenham Hotspur’s move for the Crystal Palace forward.
The Gunners will pay a guaranteed £60m plus £7.5m in add-ons for the forward, with personal terms now close to being totally agreed and a medical expected to take place on Friday.
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The 27-year-old’s release clause, worth £60m plus £8m in add-ons, expired before the Premier League season started.
Eze was absent from the Eagles squad as they beat Fredrikstad, in the first leg of their Conference League play-off at Selhurst Park on Thursday but was spotted at the ground after the game by Sky cameras.
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Watch exclusive footage of Eberechi Eze leaving Selhurst Park for perhaps the final time as a Crystal Palace player after their Conference League play-off first leg against Fredrikstad
Spurs felt they had an agreement in place with Palace and Eze on Wednesday before their north London rivals reignited their interest and swooped in following an injury to Kai Havertz.
Eze was one of a number of players Arsenal looked into in the first few weeks of the window, where, significantly, a lot of the work was carried out in June when they explored the conditions of a deal. Since then, their focus has been on other positions and player departures.
Spurs were considering offering Richarlison in a deal for Eze. That would have freed up striker space for them to try and sign Yoane Wissa, who played under Thomas Frank at Brentford. Wissa still wants to join Newcastle, who had a second bid rejected on Wednesday.
Eze, who started in Palace’s draw at Chelsea on Sunday, has two years left on his contract at Selhurst Park.
How battle for Eze unfolded
On Wednesday, Spurs felt they had an agreement with both Eze and Crystal Palace to sign the 27-year-old
Arsenal have a long-standing interest in Eze, who was previously on the books of their academy and has said he was a supporter of the club growing up.
They explored a potential deal earlier in the window, but chose not to pursue a deal at that stage as they prioritised strengthening other areas of the squad and agreeing new contracts with existing players.
Spurs then came in for Eze after Morgan Gibbs-White chose to sign a new contract at Nottingham Forest and they lost James Maddison to an ACL injury.
Talks were held between Tottenham and Palace, and Spurs felt they had an agreement in place on Wednesday with club and the player.
However, Arsenal then came in to hijack the deal in a major twist on Wednesday evening.
Analysis: Electric Eze will unlock defences for Arsenal
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith:
Eberechi Eze is electric. The 27-year-old is a delight to watch with his poise and swagger on the ball and craft to open up defences, not to mention his penchant for scoring spectacular strikes himself.
He finished last season as one of the hottest prospects in the country, scoring in six games in a row, including both the FA Cup semi-final and final at Wembley as he helped inspire Crystal Palace to their first ever major honour.
Eberechi Eze’s stats in the Premier League for Crystal Palace last season
Last season wasn’t all plain sailing, though. “I think Ebere has had a strange season,” said Palace boss Glasner at the end of March. “He hasn’t had many goals in the Premier League and he has been unlucky, but he keeps going. He’s also struggled with strange injuries.”
Those comments came after Eze had ignited Palace in an FA Cup tie at Fulham, scoring one and setting up another. That standout display came on the back of a first goal for England. Fit and full of confidence, Eze was back to his best during the run-in.
Eberechi Eze’s heat map for Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season
It is that livewire maverick Arsenal will hope can unlock deep defences and bring a spark to their previously at-times predictable patterns of attack. He offers something completely different to Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, the current wide left options and Viktor Gyokeres will be relishing the prospect of latching onto the type of passes which have proved so productive for Jean-Philippe Mateta.
After being released by the Gunners as a 13-year-old, Eze will be motivated to seize a second-chance in north London – and, in his prime, he looks set to do just that and make a big impact for Mikel Arteta.
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Analysis: Is Arsenal’s move all down to Havertz injury?
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Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains how Arsenal hijacked Tottenham Hotspur’s move for Eberechi Eze
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“Arsenal 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.
“His wish was very important in this – Arsenal matched Spurs’ bid of £60m, including £7.5m in add-ons. Remember, he had a release clause which expired last week, which was worth up to £68m.
“Arsenal have been interested in signing him all summer and their fans were crying out for them to make a move for him.
“When you looked at how much business they had already done this summer you could suggest they had to sell before they brought in another player.
“Is this move motivated by the fact Kai Havertz picked up this injury at Old Trafford? Or have they been really smart and avoided getting involved in a bidding war, and knew he would choose Arsenal if he had a choice, and waited for Spurs to agree a deal before they turn up at the 11th hour and matched it. I think it’s a bit of both.
“I have some sympathy for Spurs. This is not football manager, this is real life. I don’t want to kick Spurs when they’re down – I’m trying to see it from the perspective of their hierarchy.
“I think they did everything they could to try to sell the club to Eze. A lot of Spurs fans are asking why they didn’t trigger his release clause before Friday, but maybe they tried to do that and the player could’ve dragged his feet. Maybe he was keeping his options open.
“Spurs fans are very angry and criticising Daniel Levy and the owners, but I think we should keep things in perspective; these kind of things happen all the time in the window.
“Ultimately, everyone knows Eze is an Arsenal fan, as are his whole family. He played for them until he was 13 when he was released.
“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.”
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