Arsenal’s pursuit of Eberechi Eze isn’t over despite Ethan Nwaneri’s new contract, and Crystal Palace are lining up a replacement in case Eze leaves.
James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that Arsenal still hold a very clear interest in Eberechi Eze, even after making six signings this summer. Though a new contract for Ethan Nwaneri has made the situation less urgent, it doesn’t seem to have ended the pursuit entirely.
Yet the Gunners are reportedly unsure about paying the full £68m release clause for a 27-year-old, and it’s not a deal they’re ready to do at any cost.
It seems like it might take Crystal Palace dropping their price or Arsenal making sales for a deal to become a realistic possibility.
For what it’s worth, Santi Aouna reports for Foot Mercato that Crystal Palace have lined up Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester City as their first choice option if Eze leaves the club this summer.
El Khannouss is also on RB Leipzig’s shortlist, with the club increasingly likely to sell Xavi Simons.
So Palace are likely to be keen to sell Eze sooner rather than later, while their replacements are still on the market, whereas it seems Arsenal would prefer to delay and see if the latter stages of the window make a transfer more feasible.
Eze’s release clause would appear to give Arsenal a fall-back option if Palace refuse to negotiate and opt against selling, but that backup plan won’t last.
Ryan Taylor of the Mirror previously reported that the clause has an expiry date, and last summer it expired a few hours before the official start of the new Premier League season.
Assuming the same is true this time around, Arsenal may not have long left to activate the clause. Palace’s Premier League campaign kicks off on August 17th, but their season starts even earlier with the Community Shield on August 10th.
If Arsenal have until the start of Palace’s Premier League season, that’s 19 days. If the clause expires before the Community Shield, that’s only 12 days. Either way, it’s not a long time to get moving on a deal.