Arsenal agree deal for Eberechi Eze - with one obstacle: report

Arsenal have tied up a move for Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace, according to reports following the Eagles' Community Shield triumph.

Though Eze saw his spot-kick saved in the shootout, Oliver Glasner's team twice pulled back a goal to send the Shield showpiece to penalties after the game ended 2-2 at 90 minutes – with Arsenal target Eze and his Crystal Palace team-mates winning another trophy in the Wembley sunshine.

Though speculation is rife on where the Greenwich-born playmaker will be next season, Glasner was adamant that Eze would start against Liverpool, committing the player's present to Selhurst Park at the very least.

Arsenal have agreed to club-to-club financial terms over Eberechi Eze deal

Arsenal's performance in a preseason friendly this weekend against Athletic Club was a convincing blueprint for where Eze will slot into manager Mikel Arteta's thinking.

The Basque boss played more of a double-pivot in the centre of his team, with new recruit Martin Zubimendi playing more as Declan Rice's equal than holding the midfield for him – as Martin Odegaard was given license to drift from his midfield berth, suggesting that Eze could well be given this role or the left-wing position to supplement the attack.

According to a new report from Football Transfers via TEAMtalk, “financial terms have already been agreed” for the transfer of the England international, with £30 million of a £55m transfer fee to be paid up front.

Recognised in FourFourTwo's list of the best attacking midfielders in the world, Eze is said to want to complete the cross-capital switch, too, with Football Transfers claiming that he is “in contact” and that the hold-up in the deal is down to Palace wanting to source a replacement.

While FourFourTwo cannot dispute this information, it doesn't tally up with our understanding of the deal.

Personal terms over an Eze move are not a problem for Arsenal – but it remains unlikely that the Gunners' sporting director Andrea Berta will commit £30m up front to a transfer in one lump sum, without a significant sale driving such a deal.

Earlier this summer, Arsenal even neglected to trigger Martin Zubimendi's release clause in favour of paying extra and structuring a move that benefited them more financially.

The North Londoners could theoretically pay a £30m fee up front, but such an outlay would be dependent on a big sale from N5 for ‘pure profit’, with the money getting added onto this year's accounts and satisfying Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Reiss Nelson is a candidate to leave the club – though his exit won't generate more than £20m – while Leandro Trossard, Fabio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Jakub Kiwior have all been linked with departures, and none of them are homegrown.

Eze is worth €55m, as per Transfermarkt.