Tottenham have finally wrapped up their Eberechi Eze saga, agreeing to sign the Crystal Palace winger for £60 million in a deal in principle with fellow London Premier League club Crystal Palace.
Eze’s £68 million release clause expired last Friday, but Tottenham ended up bagging the Englishman for a little cheaper than that anyway, saving around £8M in the process (before clauses kick things up again).
UPDATE: Tottenham’s arch-rivals Arsenal have gazumped them at the eleventh hour!
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Thomas Frank was especially eager to bring the 27-year-old to Spurs to cover the creative dearth left by James Maddison, who is now sidelined long-term with an ACL injury. Eze scored 34 goals in his 146 top-flight appearances for Palace, and would be expected to boost those numbers again once he slots into a Spurs side that would funnel through him.
Across his full 305 professional football matches played, Eze has clocked up 40 assists.
With Maddison injured and talismanic Heung-min Son no longer at the club, Tottenham will need the creativity.
For Eze, the move gives him something he’s been chasing for some time: Champions League football. Crystal Palace will contest a European campaign this season, playing in the UEFA Conference League, but it’s not quite the same evening lights the top European competition gives.
Should the 27-year-old pass his medical, Frank may even pick him off the bench against Manchester City; Tottenham takes on the Manchester heavyweights on the road this weekend in the Premier League’s second round.
Whether Eze immediately makes the switch remains to be seen, though considering the waves he was giving Palace fans in his last match, it’s very likely he’s played his last game in blue and red and will be in London lily-white before long.
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For Palace, they already have an Eze replacement lined up: The London club wants to sign Leicester’s Bilal El Khannouss. The Moroccan playmaker would have cost around £22 million just recently, but in a similar situation to Eze’s, his release clause expired this window. Unfortunately for Palace, the Foxes want closer to £30 million if they’re to lose their star now.
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Christos Tzolis, from Club Brugge, is another option Crystal Palace is also reportedly investigating.
