Arsenal are preparing to snatch Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze from Tottenham after agreeing a fee close to £68 million ($92 million) for the English international. This was reported by sources close to the matter.
In an eventful day, Spurs were confident of finalizing the deal after reaching an agreement with Palace and with Eze himself.
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However, Arsenal decided to enter the fray later, fearing that Kai Havertz could be sidelined for a long period after suffering a knee injury.
Sources indicated that Arsenal, until that moment, had not followed through with their initial interest for two reasons: It was partly linked to the possible departure of Ethan Nwaneri, who recently signed a new five-year contract, and the North London club was prioritizing departures before considering a deal for Eze, after having invested almost 200 million pounds in signings in this market.Eberechi Eze en un entrenamiento con el Crystal Palace el miércoles. John Walton/PA Images via Getty ImagesHavertz did not participate in an open training session at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, and sources later confirmed that the club is awaiting the results of further tests before determining the full extent of the problem.
Early indications suggest that Havertz is facing a long period out, so Arsenal have chosen to re-enter the market and accelerate negotiations with Eze.
The opportunity for Arsenal to act was also partly created by Palace’s reluctance to let Eze go before the first leg of the Conference League qualifier against Fredrikstad.
Eze, 27, was willing to join Spurs, but the midfielder, who has two years left on his contract, has been an Arsenal fan since childhood and was thought to be open to joining the club when he initially expressed his interest.
The Spurs are preparing to move on to other targets if Eze confirms his preference to join Arsenal, but this represents another disappointment in the market for Thomas Frank’s team, after they failed to sign Morgan Gibbs-White, who at one point was on the verge of joining the club before opting to sign a new contract to stay at Nottingham Forest.
