Manchester City reportedly failed with a £60 million bid for Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze on the deadline day of the summer transfer window.
According to Daily Mirror, Manchester City made a determined push to land the services of Eberechi Eze on the final day before the summer transfer window slammed shut. But their eleventh-hour bid fell way short of Crystal Palace’s exorbitant asking price.
Pep Guardiola and those at the Etihad were relatively busy in the transfer market this past summer with a number of incomings and outgoings. Croatia internationals Mateo Kovacic and defender Josko Gvardiol arrived from Chelsea and RB Leipzig, respectively, whereas two high-profile departures — Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan — came early in the window.
Given Manchester City generally get their business done early and then sit back and watch the others scramble around for late deals, it is notable that there was plenty of market activity in the final days of the window this time out.
They wrapped up a late deal to sign Jeremy Doku from Rennes only in the final week of the window, while Matheus Nunes arrived from Wolverhampton Wanderers on deadline day for £53 million in the wake of the foreseeable absence of Kevin De Bruyne because of injury. All in all, they added incredible depth despite losing some key men.
However, it appears Pep Guardiola wanted one more reinforcement on deadline day. There were reports in late August that they moved their focus towards Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze after pulling the plug on a move for West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta due to the betting allegations against him. But the rumours somewhat cooled down in the closing stages of the window.
Now, Daily Mirror claims that City actually made a last-gasp push for Eze on deadline day. They had cash burning a hole in their pocket, having sold Cole Palmer to Chelsea for a pure profit of £42.5 million early on Friday.
The Citizens were ready to reinvest all of the Palmer money and a little more in a bid to sign Eze late before the deadline. It is also suggested that the player would have been open to the idea of moving to the Etihad and having a chance to develop his game under the tutelage of legendary boss Pep Guardiola.
However, City’s eventual £60 million bid did not meet Palace’s steep £80 million valuation of the playmaker. So Eze stayed at Selhurst Park, which comes as music to Roy Hodgson and Palace supporters.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a strong campaign for the Eagles last term, scoring ten goals and providing four assists in 38 Premier League appearances in what was his most productive Premier League return. Eze’s dazzling exploits at Selhurst Park not only helped Palace steer clear of the relegation zone but even earned him a first call-up to England’s senior side, making his Three Lions debut in a European Championship qualifier against Malta in June.
From Palace’s point of view, losing Eze so close to the transfer deadline would have been a huge setback, especially considering their star player Wilfried Zaha had already departed for Galatasaray. Not to mention, it would have left them in a challenging position trying to source a replacement in the final hours of the window.
