Manchester City have entered the race for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, who is the target of Tottenham and Arsenal, according to reports.
The 26-year-old is arguably one of the Premier League’s playmakers and Gareth Southgate has rightly given him a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.
Eze, who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger, scored 11 goals and provided six assists for Palace last season, attracting the attention of several top clubs.
He has a £68m release clause in his contract (£60m plus add-ons) and, as reported in the past, Tottenham have seriously thought about activating it, while Arsenal have also shown interest.
According to The Mirror, Manchester City is a move for Eze amid the uncertainty surrounding Kevin de Bruyne.
As we exclusively revealed three weeks ago, Saudi club Al-Ittihad have offered a lucrative contract for the Belgian midfielder, something they are considering.
Fabrizio Romano has played down reports that De Bruyne has already agreed to move to Saudi Arabia, but Man City appear to be making plans for his potential departure.
De Bruyne has 12 months left on his contract at the Etihad, so the Cityzens hold the cards in the negotiations, but may opt to sell him sooner rather than later to avoid wasting the 33-year-old on a loose move.
The Mirror reports that even if De Bruyne is still in full agreement with Al-Ittihad, he is “expected” to complete the move to Saudi Arabia.
It is claimed that if Manchester City were to upgrade the Eze, Tottenham would be “powerless to save the player from succumbing to the appeal of the Etihad”.
Pep Guardiola and his team have a “long-standing admiration for Eze” and he will most likely leave Palace this summer, but only if one of his suitors meets his release clause.
Oliver Glasner has already lost Michael Olise, who joined Bayern Munich in a £50m deal.
Marc Guehi is also targeting Liverpool, who, as we exclusively revealed, are “very confident” in signing the 24-year-old centre-back.
Adam Wharton is also attracting interest from across Europe, but Palace are determined to keep company and remain the defensive midfielder, having arrived from Blackburn Rovers in January.
It turns out that Eze will probably be the next player to leave, so it will be attractive to see if Man City, Tottenham or even Arsenal will make the first concrete offer for him.
Eze has the quality to play at the highest point and would be Guardiola’s main target if the Cityzens tackle with De Bruyne.