Arsenal have signed winger, Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace in a £67.5m transfer.
Eze’s move marks his return to the Gunners after a 14-year absence, having been dropped by Arsenal at the age of 13 and the 27-year-old has since gone on to win the FA Cup last season with Palace, in a campaign which saw him register 15 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
His performances ultimately led Tottenham to put in a £60m bid in recent days and were in advanced negotiations with Palace, until Arsenal hijacked the deal with a matching bid plus £7.5m in add-ons totalling £67.5m which had a faster payment structure that met Palace’s demands.
Arsenal’s bid – brought about due to a knee injury for Kai Havertz – also proved too lucrative for Eze to snub at Tottenham’s expense, as the winger sealed a return to his first club on a five-year contract until June 2030.
Manager, Mikel Arteta is “absolutely delighted” to sign Eze who excites him with his quality which will add extra layers to the Gunners’ attack.
“He is a powerful and exciting player who will give us a new dimension in our attacking game. What stands out just as much as his talent and intelligence as a player, is the way he has worked hard throughout his career to get where he is today.
“His journey, his mentality, and his ambition are exactly what we want in our team, and we love how much it means to him and his family to be joining our club. We all look forward to start working with Eberechi soon.”
Palace Chairman, Steve Paris added: “Throughout five years here, Eberechi has been an incredible presence, having had a huge impact on Crystal Palace Football Club and been an inspiration for the people of South London.
“Eberechi’s journey is truly incredible: from being released from multiple clubs, to scoring the Cup final-winning goal, and helping bring the club its first major trophy in 164 years, he is a huge inspiration and role model.
“Just as importantly, and no less inspirationally, Ebs is a great person, always positive, always a positive presence, and humble in his dealings with everyone, regularly giving his time to the club’s charity and other philanthropy. He epitomises everything good about the modern footballer.
“We, as a club, will always hold Ebs in our hearts and wish him all the success for the future. He will always be welcome back at Selhurst Park.”
Following his release from Arsenal’s academy, Eze enjoyed spells at Fulham, Reading and Millwall but made his senior breakthrough at QPR in January 2017 in a FA Cup defeat at home to Blackburn – just five months after he officially joined the Hoops in August 2016.
Eze went on to score 20 goals in 112 appearances across four seasons at QPR, during which he spent the first half of 2017-18 season on loan at Wycombe which saw him net five goals in 22 appearances, in a campaign which ultimately saw the Chairboys promoted to League One.
August 2020 saw Eze move to Palace where he went on to score 40 goals and create 28 assists in 169 appearances under three different managers (Roy Hodgson, Patrick Vieira and Oliver Glasner), plus two caretaker spells under Paddy McCarthy.
Recent months eventually saw Eze enjoy major silverware with Palace as the Eagles won last season’s FA Cup title courtesy of his winner against Manchester City in the Final, which they followed up with the Community Shield on penalties against Liverpool in early August.
Eze represents England at international level and featured within their Under-20s and U21s levels before he received his first call-up in May 2021 in a provisional squad list, but an injury prevented his involvement in that summer’s UEFA Euro as the Three Lions finished runners-up.
His next call-up didn’t come until two years later and he made his senior bow in a 4-0 victory over Malta in UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying, albeit as a 70th-minute substitute for James Maddison.
Eze has gone on to score one goal in 11 total appearances for England, with his first senior international goal having come in March as he sealed a 3-0 victory at home to Latvia at Wembley Stadium.
Summer 2024 saw Eze feature in England’s squad at UEFA Euro 2024 with three substitute appearances as the Three Lions again suffered heartbreak in the final.
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