Arsenal have been told they are trying to sign a ‘Tottenham player’ with their pursuit of Eberechi Eze. The Gunners have been hot on the heels of the Crystal Palace playmaker this summer but Spurs could yet offer stiff competition in the wake of James Maddison’s ACL injury.
Tottenham have followed Eze for years and it would be a bitter blow to club bosses and the fans if, after all that, he ended up signing for their bitter north London rivals. Arsenal have been in discussions with Palace over a summer move for the 27-year-old but they do not want to pay his £67.5million release clause.
That may give Tottenham the opening they need to mount a challenge for Eze’s signature. Although no concrete moves have been made as yet, Spurs hero Jermain Defoe feels that the Palace star would be a perfect fit for his former club.
“Eze is someone who, if this makes sense, is a Tottenham player,” Defoe told talkSPORT. “He’s someone that plays with freedom. You look at the great players over the years that the club have had and technically how good he is, how confident he is, he’s another special footballer.
“If [a move to Tottenham] can happen then, of course, it’s only good for the team because, obviously, when you get these injuries, especially long-term injuries, you need to replace these players.”
It will be a tense end to the summer transfer window for Palace, who are fending off interest in several of their best players. Their top scorer from last season, Jean-Philippe Mateta, was the subject of a transfer offer from Atalanta and the Italian club could yet bid again.
Eze is clearly a man in demand, while captain Marc Guehi is also being pursued by the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle. The best that Palace manager Oliver Glasner could do was assure fans that Eze will be involved in the Community Shield tomorrow.
“He will play on Sunday, definitely,” said the Austrian. He added: “The basics are there, it’s now just to get back into the rhythm.
“Of course, [the players] could switch off [over the summer] and it was necessary for them, but we’ve started on a different level, with a different mindset and different standard to last year, and this is why we’re looking forward to the season in a very positive way.”
