Arsenal ‘beat Spurs to Palace hero for £60m’

Eze was seemingly destined for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium only for the Gunners to make their move, with the player opting to join Arsenal instead. 

The deal is worth a reported £60million plus add-ons and is the latest move in an impressive window for Arsenal, who opened their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday.

Eze has scored 40 goals in 168 appearances for Palace, having joined from Queens Park Rangers in a deal worth £19.5m in 2020.

Eberechi Eze transfer: Why have Arsenal pounced?

South London-born Eze joined Arsenal’s academy as an eight-year-old and was released at 13 before making his name at QPR between 2016 and 2020, becoming the Championship side’s player of the year and players’ player of the year in 2019/20.

Eze’s performances have long seen him linked with a return to Arsenal, but Tottenham had been poised to sign the player who scored his most recent goal against Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 17, earning Palace their first major trophy.

Arsenal forward Kai Havertz has sustained a knee injury that may have made their desire to sign Eze more urgent.

Eberechi Eze stats

One of the most impressive attacking midfielders operating in the division, Eze contributed 14 goals and 11 assists in 43 matches in all competitions last season, with the Eagles preferring to use him on the left but giving their second-top scorer a roaming role.

An expert dribbler with an eye for an incisive pass, Eze finished on 11 goals and six assists in 31 games in 2023/24.

Six days before the FA Cup final, Eze netted twice in three minutes in a 2-0 win at Tottenham as part of a run of 12 direct goal involvements in 12 games.

Asked what brings the best out of him in 2023, Eze told The Athletic: “A structure of knowing what I need to do, but the licence and freedom to express myself and do what I think is right at any given moment.

“I feel like if I’m given that licence then I’m able to be free and create, and that’s when I can make things happen.”

England gave Eze his senior debut in June 2023 and he made three substitute appearances to help the Three Lions reach the final of Euro 2024.

A first international goal followed during a 3-0 home win over Latvia in current manager Thomas Tuchel’s second match in charge, with Eze making his first start under the German in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal in June.

Nigeria had been keen to cap Eze, who has Nigerian parents and admitted he was yet to decide which country to play for while on England Under-21 duty in 2020.