Tottenham have a ‘strong advantage’ over Arsenal in the transfer race to sign Crystal Palace’s FA Cup hero Eberechi Eze, according to reports.
Eze scored the only goal of the FA Cup final on Saturday as Palace landed their first major trophy with a 1-0 win over Manchester City at Wembley.
The 26-year-old has shined for the south London club this season, conjuring up 24 goal involvements in 41 games across all competitions.
Eze, capped 10 times by England to date, is now being linked to three other Premier League teams with Spurs, Arsenal and City all interested in a deal.
Spurs are the favourites to land Eze, The Sun have reported, with Ange Postecoglou’s side having a significant edge over both Arsenal and City.
Eze is thought to be determined to play Champions League football – which Spurs will qualify for if they win their Europa League final on Wednesday.
Arsenal have not been ‘as aggressive in their pursuit’ to sign Eze, although Mikel Arteta’s side are still believed to be keeping an eye on his situation.
City cannot be ruled out either, with Pep Guardiola seeking a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Palace don’t want to lose Eze – who is under contract at Selhurst Park until 2027 – and it would likely take a huge fee to sign the attacking midfielder.
If Eze refuses to sign a new deal at Palace, though, he will enter the final 12 months of his contract in the summer of 2026, which could leave the Eagles in a more vulnerable transfer position.
It is reported that Eze, who joined Palace from fellow London club Queens Park Rangers five years ago, will take his time in deciding his next move.
Eze previously spent some time in Arsenal’s youth academy but his spell with the Gunners didn’t last long and he was released at the age of 13.
Speaking to The Independent in 2020, Eze opened up about being axed by Arsenal as a youngster and how it left him absolutely devastated.
‘I remember crying in my room for a solid week, my mum telling me that it’s going to be OK but not being able to get over it,’ the Englishman said.
‘Then I went to Fulham and I was finally starting to enjoy my football again.
‘We played Arsenal a few months later but, when I went over to shake the academy manager’s hand, I started welling up. All the feelings came back.’
Eze has played a total of 165 games for Palace to date, registering 39 goals and 28 assists since his arrival at the club from QPR in 2020.
He scored his first international goal for England earlier this year in a 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Latvia.
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