Bukayo Saka may have subtly hinted earlier this month that Eberechi Eze could be joining him at Arsenal.
The Gunners have made a last-minute swoop for the Crystal Palace winger, outmanoeuvring their fierce rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs seemed to have secured their man. However, Mikel Arteta's side made it clear they would meet Palace's asking price of £68million, while agreeing terms with the England star, pulling off an incredible late stage hijack.
A move to the Emirates Stadium will see Eze join up with some of his international team-mates, one of whom is Saka. Before the new season kicked off, Saka posted pictures on his Instagram story showing him visiting the New Balance shop in London, reports the Mirror.
In one of the snaps, there is a large picture of Saka, alongside a display of New Balance footballs. However, just in front of the picture of the Arsenal star, is a much smaller photo of Eze. Subtle? Indeed. A coincidence, with Eze also having a contract with the sportswear giant? Perhaps.
However, with recent events unfolding as they have, it's safe to say, while the placement of Eze's photo in Saka's story was perhaps coincidental, it now looks like a deliberate hint from the 23-year-old that he perhaps knew all along that his England team-mate would end up joining him in north London.
Palace chairman Steve Parish and Tottenham owner Daniel Levy were engaged in negotiations over a deal for Eze. However, Eze's preference was always to join Arsenal – the club where he spent his formative years – and this proved pivotal in enticing him back to the Gunners.
The Athletic has reported that, despite initially being deterred by the asking price, Arsenal eventually signalled their willingness to meet the release clause, which expired last Friday.
Arsenal's sporting director Andrea Berta and vice-chairman Tim Lewis acted swiftly to reach an agreement, which will see Eze undergo a medical after playing one final time for Palace in their Conference League play-off match against Fredrikstad on Thursday evening at Selhurst Park.
However, Palace may still choose to leave him out of the tie to avoid any risk of injury before his Arsenal medical. Palace's insistence on delaying any deal until after their Conference League play-off match ultimately helped to scupper Spurs' chances of securing Eze, as it gave Arsenal the opportunity to swoop in.
The Gunners have made no secret of their admiration for Eze, but had backed off from a deal in recent weeks, seemingly leaving Spurs with a clear path. However, a knee injury to Kai Havertz prompted Arsenal into action.
Arsenal have already splashed out over £200m this summer on Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Adding Eze to their ranks would undoubtedly bolster their title challenge. Since his £17m move from Queens Park Rangers in 2020, the 27-year-old has made 167 appearances for Palace, netting 14 goals and setting up 11 more in his 43 outings last season.
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank is still on the hunt for a creative force following the loss of James Maddison to a severe knee injury and the departure of Son Heung-min this summer. Although Mohammed Kudus has been brought in from West Ham, there's no doubt that additional firepower is required.