Tottenham Hotspur Set To Seal Transfer For Crystal Palace Eberechi Eze

‎Tottenham have intensified negotiations to sign Eberechi Eze, with additional talks held.

‎Crystal Palace, however, wants to secure a replacement first before agreeing to his departure.

‎Spurs, who confirmed contract extensions for their new captain, Cristian Romero, on Monday, are longstanding admirers of Eze, having made a move for him last summer.

‎They are even more eager to land him now that James Maddison has sustained an ACL rupture. Dejan Kulusevski, another of the club’s key attacking midfielders, is sidelined with a knee issue.

‎Eze is represented by the influential CAA Base agency, which has close ties to Spurs, and he is open to a move.

‎The 27-year-old forward has also been tracked by Arsenal, the club he supported as a boy and played for in his early years.

‎Eze’s contract at Palace contained a £68m release clause but expired last Friday. Spurs hope to get him for around £55m plus bonuses.

‎Eze’s former club, Queens Park Rangers, is entitled to 15% of any profit Palace makes from his sale. Palace paid about £19 million to QPR for the player in August 2020.

‎Romero has extended his contract with Spurs until 2029, marking a notable turnaround after links suggesting he might leave at the start of the summer.

‎The Argentine centre-back has long expressed a desire to play in Spain and had attracted interest from Atlético Madrid.

‎However, after being made Spurs captain following Son Heung-min’s departure to Los Angeles FC, the 27-year-old has reiterated his commitment. Also, right-back Djed Spence has signed a new long-term deal with the club.

‎Palace lineup replacement for Eze

‎Palace has identified Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester and Christos Tzolis of Club Bruges as potential Eze replacements. The club reportedly failed with an opening £20m bid for El Khannouss, whose release clause expired recently, with Leicester believed to be seeking around £26m for the Morocco forward.

‎Palace has also tabled a £25m bid for Tzolis, the Greek international who spent three seasons at Norwich.

‎Oliver Glasner said he expected Eze to play for Palace in the Conference League playoff first leg against Fredrikstad at Selhurst Park on Thursday. If he did, he would still be able to play for another team in the league phase of European competition this season.

‎Marc Guéhi is also anticipated to feature on Thursday as Liverpool have not yet met Palace’s £40m valuation of the England defender, whose contract runs to the end of the season.

‎Guéhi is believed to be open to remaining at Selhurst Park and exiting on a free, though Palace chairman Steve Parish has admitted he would prefer to sell the 25-year-old this month.

‎Palace had considered the Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande as a potential replacement for Guéhi but the 21-year-old is expected to be out for six weeks with a muscle injury and is unlikely to move this window.

‎Palace has also shown interest in Jakub Kiwior, though the Polish defender appears to prefer a move abroad, having been omitted from Arsenal’s squad for Sunday’s match with Manchester United.

‎Porto are in discussions over a season-long loan for Kiwior with an obligation to buy him permanently at season’s end.