Tottenham interested in Crystal Palace’s Eze

Tottenham are exploring a deal for Crystal Palace and England forward Eberechi Eze.

Thomas Frank is looking to bolster his options in the final third after attacking midfielder James Maddison was ruled out for the majority of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

South Korea forward Son Heung-min left the club after 10 years earlier this month having scored 173 goals in 454 appearances, while midfielder Dejan Kulusevski is still out after knee surgery.

Eze scored 14 goals across all competitions for Palace last season, including in their 1-0 win against Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

The 27-year-old made his England debut in 2023 and has won 11 caps for the Three Lions, including three appearances at Euro 2024.

Tottenham are also in talks with Manchester City over a move for Savinho but multiple sources have indicated that Eze is now emerging as a player of serious interest for Spurs.

There is no confirmation whether Tottenham will look to progress with deals for both Brazil winger Savinho and Eze.

Arsenal also have an interest in Eze but are currently looking at trying to move players on, with the likes of Leandro Trossard, Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira set to leave.

It remains to be seen whether Tottenham’s active interest in Eze results in Arsenal accelerating a move for the England international.

Eze joined Palace from Queens Park Rangers in a deal worth £19.5m in 2020 and has scored 40 goals in 168 appearances.

His contract at Selhurst Park is due to expire in the summer of 2027.

Eze has improved his total number of goals and assists in each of the past three seasons and scored or created 26 goals in all competitions last term, the highest figure of his career.

That growth has been aided by his switch from the left wing to a more central role as one of two attacking midfielders in the 3-4-2-1 formation used by Palace boss Oliver Glasner.

Eze finished last season with a flourish, becoming the first player to score in six consecutive appearances for Palace since Darren Ambrose in 2009.

If he moves to Tottenham, Eze could also play centrally as the attacking midfielder in Frank’s 4-2-3-1 system, filling the creative void left by Maddison’s knee injury.

Maddison and Eze both created two chances per 90 minutes in the most recent Premier League campaign, though Maddison’s passing range means he is perhaps better suited to stretching play.

He averaged 3.9 long passes and 8.6 passes into the final third per 90 last season, compared to corresponding figures of 2.3 and 4 for Eze. While Eze gets on the ball less because of Palace’s counter-attacking style, Maddison appears the more progressive passer. Eze, meanwhile, has the edge in terms of running with the ball, averaging 4.6 dribbles to Maddison’s 3.4, with a similar advantage when it comes to taking on players in the opposition half.

Another option would be to use Eze as a replacement for the departed Son on the wings, where he could compete for a starting spot with Mohammed Kudus, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel.

One of Son’s biggest strengths was his finishing ability with either foot. The South Korean attempted 33 shots with his right in the league last season and 24 with his left. Though not quite at that level, Eze is also relatively good with both feet, registering 72 right-footed efforts and 28 off his left.

Regardless of where Eze may operate, Spurs would be getting a player who excels in wriggling his way out of tight spaces and making things happen. Eze ranked highly for most combined shots and chances created in the Premier League last season, with only a handful of big names faring better.