Eberechi Eze will be deprived of an opportunity to bid farewell to the Crystal Palace supporters in a game after it was decided he would sit out their Conference League play-off.
Eze finalized personal terms with Arsenal on Wednesday night after the Gunners informed Palace they would pay £60million plus £7.5m in add-ons for the midfielder. The 27-year-old had previously seemed destined to join Tottenham, but a delay in completing a deal allowed Arsenal to seize the chance following an injury to Kai Havertz.
Palace had halted a deal with Spurs because they wanted to field Eze in their match against Fredrikstad in the Conference League play-offs on Thursday night. Palace host the Norwegian team at Selhurst Park in the first leg at 8pm, which could have marked Eze’s last appearance for the club.
However, with a medical scheduled with Arsenal in the coming days, there was hesitation from both parties to let him participate. With such a large sum at stake, the choice has reportedly been made to permit Eze to observe the match from the Selhurst Park stands.
Palace have secured a club-record sale and cannot afford an injury at this critical juncture. Arsenal have already invested over £200m to sign Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard, and Kepa Arrizabalaga and have now pledged to escalate their expenditure further.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner has consistently commended Eze and captain Marc Guehi, who is a target for Liverpool, for their conduct in recent weeks. But the lineup decision may have been taken out of his control on Thursday.
Chairman Steve Parish held discussions with his Spurs counterpart Daniel Levy before Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta and vice-chairman Tim Lewis shifted the momentum. They swiftly agreed to the Eagles’ conditions to finalize a deal, and a medical is now anticipated to occur before the weekend.
Eze has made 167 appearances for Palace since joining the club from Queens Park Rangers in 2020 in a deal worth £17m and shares a strong bond with the fans. He trained as usual on Wednesday and was expecting to play after starting the 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Glasner said: “Many of you were surprised he (Eze) and Marc started against Chelsea, you may be surprised they start tomorrow, but they are committed to the team.
“They will play a crucial part for as long as they are here, they are committed to the team. If they leave, they want to leave as the guys who gave 100 per cent to Crystal Palace.”