Crystal Palace demand, transfer deadline and how Tottenham beat Arsenal to Eberechi Eze

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Tottenham are interested in signing Eberechi Eze before the summer transfer window closes, having initially appeared to distance themselves from a move for the Crystal Palace star.

Eze has been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park for much of the summer, with Arsenal the most recent club to be heavily tipped to make a move.

But, with an ACL injury suffered by James Maddison, ruling him out for most of the upcoming 2025/26 season and the failure to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest, Spurs are back in the market for someone to play in the No.10 role.

In Eze they will have someone who can play across the frontline and in midfield - a versatile player for Thomas Frank's system.

Eze still has two years left on his contract with the Eagles, giving Palace the upper hand in negotiations over a transfer. Eze has a release clause of £67.5million which expires before the Premier League season starts, so Tottenham have something of a deadline to meet to get a deal done.

That said it is understood that Palace will demand a similar amount even after the release clause expires.

Spurs will want to get a deal over the line before the season starts, though, to give Frank the best possible squad heading into that opening fixture against Burnley, particularly without a recognised No.10 to call upon at the moment. Dejan Kulusevski has a long-term knee injury, meaning Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr and the likes of Wilson Odobert or Mathys Tel could have to play there if Eze is not brought into the club in time.

The deadline to play players in Premier League games at the weekend is 12pm on the last working day before the weekend - so noon on Friday for Spurs ahead of their clash with Burnley.

Palace will also want to complete a transfer quickly, if they are to let Eze leave, which they would do reluctantly, given his importance to the team.

The Eagles will need to replace the outgoing star, and the longer the saga goes on, the less time they will have to do so.

Palace could also need to replace two big players, given Liverpool links with defender Marc Guehi, who only has one year left on his contract in south London.

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football.london initially reported in July that Spurs were highly unlikely to make a move for Eze, despite the noise around the Lilywhites' apparent interest.

That was likely due to a protracted move for Gibbs-White being on the cards - a move which subsequently failed. Arsenal moved to the front of the queue for Eze, but it is now Spurs who are leading the race.

That is because the Gunners' interest has cooled somewhat. Ethan Nwaneri's decision to sign a new contract at the Emirates Stadium led to Arsenal easing off a move for Eze, feeling another signing in that department was not entirely necessary.

Eze remains of interest to Arsenal, but their priority right now is on getting fringe players out of the door, rather than bringing new players in and that is where Spurs can swoop to secure the deal ahead of their north London rivals.

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