Palace Demand £35m Upfront From Arsenal For Eze

Arsenal have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Eberechi Eze with Crystal Palace now demanding £35m up front, according to reports.

The Gunners have been extremely active in the summer transfer market so far with six signings already through the door and potentially more to come.

Viktor Gyokeres was the latest player to join last week from Sporting Lisbon and now Arsenal are likely to move some players on before looking for a left-sided wide attacker.

Journalist Charles Watts confirmed exactly that last week, he said: ‘Once the Gyokeres deal is confirmed I think Arsenal’s attention in the market will shift towards trying to move some players on.

‘The squad does look a bit bulky now, with a few players clearly going to be struggling for minutes next season.

‘So Arsenal will look to try and get some outgoings sorted, potentially for players like Fabio Vieira, Sambi Lokonga, Reiss Nelson and maybe Oleksandr Zinchenko.

‘I do still feel like there is scope to bring in one more new addition before the window closes, however. There is still a long time left in the market and it wouldn’t shock me if Arsenal still look to do something.

‘We know they are looking at options for that left-sided attacking role, with Eberechi Eze, Rodrygo and Anthony Gordon believed to be of interest.

‘Whether Nwaneri’s new deal puts a stop to that I’m not sure, but I really don’t believe it should.

‘Nwaneri is much more of a right sided-option, whether that be on the wing or in the more central role that Martin Odegaard usually operates.’

Eze has been consistently linked as the man Arsenal want for the left-hand side of their attack but the sticking point remains Crystal Palace’s asking price.

The Gunners want to avoid paying his full release clause, while the amount they want to pay in instalments differs to how much Palace want.

The Independent claimed earlier this month that Arsenal were hoping to pay the £60m in ‘three instalments of £20m’ before the additional add-ons made up his full release clause of around £68m.

They wrote: ‘The 27-year-old’s current contract runs until summer 2027, albeit with a release clause that comes to around £60m but then additional fees in bonuses. Arsenal are aiming on a structure that will amount to three instalments of £20m to match Crystal Palace’s payment terms.

‘Eze’s preference is understood to be Arsenal should he leave Selhurst Park, although sources close to the situation believe Liverpool may yet activate long-standing interest. No club has yet made a concrete approach to Crystal Palace.’

But now The Guardian claim that plan is in tatters as the Eagles have asked for ‘£35m in advance’ if the deal goes through after Arsenal ‘held initial talks with Palace over a deal for Eze’.

Arsenal ‘have been informed that they would have to pay more than half of Eberechi Eze’s release clause up front to sign the England forward, with Crystal Palace determined not to allow him to leave for less than a fee that could reach up to £67.5m including bonuses.’

It is understood ‘the rest of his initial £60m fee due in instalments’ and the ‘clause includes up to £7.5m in add-ons and is thought to expire before the Premier League season kicks off on 16 August’.

Football365.com