Eberechi Eze is on his way to Arsenal in a £60 million deal that could eventually rise to £67 million, but the England international will not feature against Leeds United this weekend.
The forward, who joined Crystal Palace from Queens Park Rangers in 2020, was pulled from Palace’s Europa Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad on Thursday evening.
The England international will undergo a medical in north London today [Friday] but will not be registered in time to make Mikel Arteta’s squad for Saturday’s fixture at the Emirates.
On Thursday night, ahead of the game they won 1-0, Palace manager Oliver Glasner admitted he was left frustrated by the late change, saying: “I expected that he would start today for us but he called me this morning and said he does not feel well to play the game.
“I have to accept it, and everything else you will have to ask the chairman.”
Glasner later added: “I expected him to play. Today he called me and said he didn’t feel well. He won’t play for us again. We could have done much better [handling Eze’s exit].
“We are very, very late. It’s 10 days to go to find the right replacements. So, again, I think we could have done much better than we did. It’s no criticism. It’s just telling facts.”
The Austrian coach, clearly exasperated, even joked that he might have to play himself at centre-back should Marc Guéhi also depart before the transfer deadline. “Maybe I will try my boots, because I was a centreback and this could be a good option. I will think about it.”
Palace chairman Steve Parish struck a more philosophical note. “We all love him [Eze] for what he’s done but, you know, the king is dead, long live the king, right? We have to move past it.”
The timing of the transfer has drawn particular attention given Kai Havertz’s knee injury, which continues to be assessed. A lengthy layoff seems the most likely option, however there are reports he could miss just eight weeks and not need a procedure.
Confirmation one way or another should come at Mikel Arteta‘s pre-Leeds press conference on Friday.
The German international’s absence reportedly accelerated Arsenal’s pursuit of Eze, with new sporting director Andrea Berta credited with driving negotiations, however it is believed that Arsenal are not quite done in the transfer market just yet.