Premier League champions Man City have joined the race to sign Arsenal and Tottenham-linked Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, according to reports.
Eze starred for Crystal Palace last season and earned a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024, making three appearances off the bench in Germany.
The 26-year-old had a few injury setbacks but was still hugely influential for the Eagles in 2023/24, particularly following Oliver Glasner’s arrival in February.
He scored an impressive 11 goals in 27 Premier League appearances, with six of his strikes coming in 11 matches under Glasner.
Crystal Palace will likely not stand in Eze’s if he wants to leave, though they are going to want a significant fee for their star player, especially after losing Michael Olise to Bayern Munich.
There is reportedly interest from Tottenham and Arsenal, with some reports claiming Eze has a £60million release clause in his Palace contract.
However, the Mirror claim that Man City ‘have a long-standing admiration’ of the winger and Tottenham ‘would be powerless to prevent the player succumbing to the lure of the Etihad’.
It is stated that Eze’s release clause is worth £60m plus add-ons, meaning a transfer is likely to reach £68m in total.
City could accelerate their interest in the Palace talisman after Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad ‘dangled a lucrative contract in front of Kevin De Bruyne‘.
Should De Bruyne move on this summer, Pep Guardiola views Eze as an ideal replacement for a player who, in truth, will be impossible to replace.
Palace are not going to entertain any offers worth less than the 26-year-old’s release clause and a move to the champions could materialise as Guardiola is ‘particularly impressed by Eze’s low maintenance temperament and his versatility, as he can play in a number of positions’.
The report adds that De Bruyne ‘is expected to agree a deal with Al Ittihad’.
“I still have one year left on my contract, so I have to think about what could happen,” De Bruyne said. “My eldest is now eight years old and knows nothing but England. He also asks how long I will play for City. Once the moment comes, we will have to deal with it in a certain way.
“At my age you have to be open to everything. You’re talking about incredible amounts of money in what may be the end of my career. Sometimes you have to think about that.
“If I play there for two years, I will be able to earn an incredible amount of money. Before that I had to play football for 15 years. I may not even reach that amount yet. Then you have to think about what that could mean next. But at the moment I haven’t had to think about that yet.”
Read the full article here
