Tottenham are confident of reaching an agreement with Crystal Palace to sign Eberechi Eze before Palace’s Europa Conference League match on Thursday. TalkSport has reported that talks are ongoing between the club’s respective chairmen Daniel Levy and Steve Parish, and are expected to accelerate in the next 48 hours.
The player has informed Palace of his desire to join Spurs but does not want to sit out any matches while still a Palace player. Palace face Norwegian side Fredrikstad in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, and Tottenham are hoping to reach an agreement in principle before then.
Eze would likely still play on Thursday before finalizing the move, as he would not be cup tied for the Champions League. Tottenham are prepared to pay a package of around £60m despite Eze’s £68m release clause.
The release clause has now expired, but Spurs always intended to bid below it. An agreement is understood to have been close on Saturday night, with early reports suggesting Eze might miss Palace’s season opener against Chelsea.
The agreement was not deemed close enough however and Eze starred for resilient Palace side. He found the back of the net with a thunderous free kick that was eventually ruled out by VAR – Marc Guehi was judged to have obstructed Moses Coaicedo in the wall – and the match ended goalless.
Eze nearing Palace departure
Eze was greeted warmly by the traveling Palace fans both when he was subbed off late in the match and at the end of the match. Both times he stood in front the supporters and waived, almost as if to say goodbye.
This suggestion was rebuked by Palace manager Oliver Glasner. Glasner responded with a sharp “No” when asked if Eze applauding the away fans could be seen as a farewell gesture.
When asked if Eze will be a Palace player once the transfer window closes, Glasner added:
“I don’t know, but I think it was not a goodbye wave.”
Despite his manager’s seemingly defiant stance, Eze has already agreed personal terms with Spurs, while Palace are on the hunt for a replacement.
They have made official approaches for Leicester playmaker Bilal El Khannouss as well as Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis. Liverpool star Harvey Elliot is another player on their shortlist.
