After a reasonable enough summer with the England team, Arsenal and Tottenham transfer target, Eberechi Eze, might’ve expected to leave Crystal Palace in the summer, but he remains at Selhurst Park.
Former team-mate, Michael Olise, has moved on to Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich, whilst Marc Guehi was the subject of major interest from Newcastle United.
Ultimately, Palace chairman, Steve Parish, was able to rebuff any bids from the Magpies, and it appears that fellow England international, Guehi, wasn’t pushing to leave the Eagles.
Simple transfer situation for Tottenham target, Eze
Eze, for his part, seemingly didn’t have a decision to make in the end.
“I want to clear up any confusion regarding Eberechi Eze, guys, as the England international didn’t leave Crystal Palace this summer,” Fabrizio Romano said to CaughtOffside for his exclusive Daily Briefing.
“There was a release clause in his contract with the Eagles, so the situation this summer was never about whether the club would have accepted or declined offers for Eze or not.
“If any club had come in and paid the release clause, there was nothing Palace could’ve done about it and the decision to move would’ve rested with Eze himself.
“No club did trigger the release clause and there were no concrete contacts so in the end, that was the reason he remained at Selhurst Park.
“Man City for sure had him on their list in 2023, and it’s true that Tottenham appreciate him, but there was never any formal bid presented from either club or any other this summer.
“As Steve Parish said, everything was quiet.”
Financial Fair Play is clearly now playing a major part in the transfer dealings at all clubs, with the Premier League’s attempts to level the playing field bearing fruit.
Clubs that perhaps previously might’ve been able to go out and buy who they liked no matter the cost are now having to consider whether they need to sell before they can buy.
That may go some way to explaining why, for this summer at least, there were no bids for Eze.
Should he retain his form for club and country during the 2024/25 campaign, there’s every reason to expect that someone may come in next summer and pay his release clause, with the Daily Express linking both Arsenal and Tottenham with interest in the player.
The player will be 27 by then but still have two years remaining on his contract (transfermarkt), so any clubs believing that they might be able to land him on the cheap will need to think again.