Arsenal have no chance of agreeing a cut-price deal for Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze as Gunners hold internal discussions over potentially triggering his release clause, according to reports.
The Gunners have made a good start to the summer transfer window with Kepa Arrizabalaga signing from Chelsea, while Martin Zubimendi has been confirmed as an Arsenal player on Sunday.
Brentford midfielder Cristian Norgaard has also been lined up, while Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera and Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres could be the next deals over the line.
Arsenal also have interest in Crystal Palace’s Eze and Real Madrid winger Rodrygo with the Gunners perhaps having to be patient if they want to sign the latter.
A deal for Eze is a simple choice with Arsenal able to trigger the release clause in his Palace contract this summer with personal terms not a problem.
Bringing an update on the situation, former Manchester United and Tottenham scout Mick Brown – who is still well-connected in the Premier League – insists the Gunners are holding internal discussions on whether to pay the release clause and bring Eze to the Emirates Stadium.
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Brown told Football Insider: “Arsenal’s interest in Eze isn’t a surprise. As we’ve said before, he’s a very talented player and any team would love to have somebody of his quality because he can be excellent.
“It’s difficult to know what Arsenal are going to do and where they’re going to look. If they want Eze as a left-winger, they should forget about it because that isn’t his position.
“But if they are going to sign Eze, they’ll have to make the decision soon. Palace aren’t going to accept less than his release clause, everybody knows that, so it should be a case of they either pay it or they don’t.
“I think Arsenal are looking at a few targets and they need to decide which one they want. That will come down to looking at their scouts reports and judging the value for money.
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“If any team wants Eze, they’ll have to pay the asking price, and if they don’t they’ll miss out. From a Palace point of view, they’ll be happy to keep him if they don’t cough up the money, and I’m sure they’ll have plans in case he does leave.”
There had been reports earlier in the summer claiming that Real Madrid could hijack a deal for Zubimendi but top transfer journalists always maintained that a deal to Arsenal was done.
And the Gunners announced his signing on Sunday with the midfielder joining from Real Sociedad and looking forward to getting started.
Zubimendi said: “This is a huge moment in my career. It’s the move I was looking for and one I wanted to make. As soon as you set foot here, you realise how big this club and this team are.
“I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me. They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come.”
Sporting director Andrea Berta added: “We are so happy to bring Martin to Arsenal and have a lot of pride in finalising this transfer. Martin was a key target for us and we all know that he is a perfect fit for our squad with the high quality he has.
“We welcome Martin and his family to the club. We look forward to him settling in with his teammates and are very excited to see him playing in an Arsenal shirt.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta continued: “Martin is a player who will bring a huge amount of quality and football intelligence to our team. He will fit in really well and he has all the attributes to be a key player for us.
“The standard he has consistently performed at over the last few seasons for both club and country is exactly why we are so excited to have him with us. We all welcome Martin and his family to the club.”