Eberechi Eze will not play Crystal Palace’s Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad tonight as he nears a move to Arsenal.
The 27-year-old forward has looked set to join Tottenham, but Arsenal made a last-minute bid to hijack the deal.
All parties now expect him to join the Gunners, with a medical booked for Friday.
As such, the player will not be involved as Crystal Palace play the first European match in the club’s history, hosting Norwegian side Fredrikstad.
Eze will be in attendance at Selhurst Park, though, in what will likely serve as his farewell to the club.
Arsenal’s bid for Eze is worth £67.5million, gazumping Tottenham’s deal by offering improved payment terms.
They are expected to wrap up personal terms in the coming days.
There is a chance Eze could make his Arsenal debut against Leeds on Saturday, though he would need to be registered by noon on Friday to be eligible.
The news follows Eagles manager Oliver Glasner’s insistence that he would play in the match: “He will come tomorrow to the Crystal Palace training ground, Tuesday off, we take Wednesday and I expect him to be back playing for us against Fredrikstad.”
This means, of course, that Eze has already played his final match for Palace – a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge.
He was denied a spectacular free-kick goal in the first half after Marc Guehi was deemed to have positioned himself too close to the defensive wall.
He signed for Palace in 2020 and has scored 34 goals in 134 Premier League appearances.
