According to reports, a ‘deadline’ for Eberechi Eze is ‘looming’ as Arsenal’s ‘approach’ on a move for the Crystal Palace star has surfaced.
Arsenal‘s summer business is almost complete as they have spent around £200m to land Kepa Arrizabalaga, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera and Viktor Gyokeres.
With these signings, the Gunners have secured most of their top summer targets, but they remain in the market for an attacking midfielder and have their eyes on Eze.
This is hardly surprising as the England international enjoyed a remarkable season in 2024/25, grabbing 25 goal contributions in all competitions for the FA Cup winners.
Eze has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs this summer, while a move to Bayern Munich has also been mentioned, but Arsenal currently appear to be his most likely destination.
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However, Arsenal have hurdles to overcome if they are to sign Eze, with a report from talkSPORT claiming a ‘deadline is looming’ for his release clause.
Eze’s release clause is worth a reported fee of £68m, but clubs only have ‘Friday at midnight’ to activate it.
The report also claims that this has not alarmed Arsenal, as they have already ‘informed Palace’ that they have ‘no plans to trigger it’.
This is because Arsenal’s ‘approach’ with Eze is that they want to agree on a fee ‘below £60m’, while they ‘could be forced to sell’ to facilitate a deal amid reports linking Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard with exits.
Despite this, Arsenal have made it clear that Martinelli is ‘not for sale’ after he attracted interest from Saudi Pro League clubs earlier this summer, while Trossard has ‘begun talks with the club over a new contract but nothing is signed yet’.
The report has also broken down Arsenal’s and Palace’s differing stances on preferred terms for attacking midfielder Eze.
TalkSPORT explained:
‘Palace are understood to want at least £35m in a lump sum as part of any deal and a total package similar to the clause.
‘Arsenal value Eze at under £60million and are hoping to pay a similar package to the £55million paid by Newcastle to Nottingham Forest for Anthony Elanga.
‘The playmaker only has two years left on his current contract leading Arsenal to believe his current club’s asking price could drop as the window winds down.’