Tottenham Hotspur Are Big Admirers Of This Crystal Palace Playmaker: Should Frank Go For Him?
Tottenham Hotspur Are Big Admirers Of This Crystal Palace Playmaker: Should Frank Go For Him?
In a recent newsletter with Give Me Sport, respected journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that Tottenham Hotspur are big admirers of Crystal Palace playmaker Eberechi Eze. Romano said,
'Tottenham love Eze, he's on the list for sure. But no final decision has been made yet.'
Eze's Impressive Numbers At Selhurst Park Last Season
The English talent enjoyed a decent run of form at the London club and managed to produce a string of impressive displays for them in the final third. Eze played in 43 matches for the Eagles last season, scoring 14 times and earning 11 assists in multiple competitions.
Advertisement
The 25-year-old was a decent performer in the opponent's half based on his average 3.48 shots per 90 minutes in the Premier League. However, he only kept 27% of his attempts on target. Eze distributed the ball relatively well after completing 74.2% of his attempted passes in league football (stats via fbref.com).
Eze's current deal at Crystal Palace will expire in the summer of 2027 which could make it tough for Spurs to recruit him on the cheap this off-season.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 20: Eberechi Eze of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Selhurst Park on May 20, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by)
Should Tottenham Hotspur Boss Thomas Frank Go For Eze?
Eze has got the pace to make some dangerous runs with the ball in the final third. He can shoot the ball with venom from long range and has got the eye to play some decisive passes on the offensive end of the field.
Advertisement
The English sensation can contribute by scoring his fair share of goals up top. However, he needs to work on improving his passing accuracy in and around the opponent's penalty area. Eze is primarily an attacking midfielder but can also fill in as a left-winger if asked to do so.
We can expect Eze to add more firepower to Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank's frontline. He has what it takes to secure a regular first-team spot at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season.
At 26, Eze has his best years ahead of him which makes him a good choice for Spurs to pursue this summer. He has already proven his worth in the Premier League and won't take much time to adjust to life at the North London club. All in all, Frank should focus on going all out to acquire Eze's services ahead of the new campaign.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
8 minutes ago
- New York Times
No. 2 pick instant reaction
Follow our coverage of the 2025 NBA Draft with the Dallas Mavericks selecting Duke's Cooper Flagg with the first pick Getty Images Imagn Images 2. San Antonio – Dylan Harper, PG, Rutgers Dylan Harper's selection presents a crowd in the backcourt with last year's Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle, and the recently acquired former All-Star De'Aaron Fox. That may eventually force the Spurs to consider a trade, but the draft is first and foremost a talent grab and Harper is clearly the best talent left on the board. Imagn Images The San Antonio Spurs have selected 19-year-old Rutgers guard Dylan Harper with the first second in the 2025 NBA Draft. Harper is a terrific bet as a high-level NBA guard. He ticks nearly every box that you look for in that respect. He created rim pressure at an elite level this year at Rutgers, despite playing in an archaic offense that lacked spacing. He drew fouls regularly and showcased enough vision as a passer that you can buy into him as a primary playmaker. Defensively, he's willing and competitive. He has great size, and you can see him playing up on that end in the biggest moments. Harper's only cause for concern is that he needs to keep working through his pull-up game, given how important that piece of the puzzle is for lead NBA guards. Harper just barely misses being a Tier One player for me and is near the top end of Tier Two. He projects as a potential All-Star with an All-NBA ceiling if things break right developmentally. But even if his next few years of development don't quite hit that level, the floor here is quite high given his creativity with the ball, ability to shoot off of the catch and size on defense. A Western Conference executive sizes up Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. When I saw him in high school, I was a huge fan. But I thought, if you really wanted to make a comp, it was, like, Andrei Kirilenko. I think now, he's going to be more dangerous as a scorer. He may not be an elite scorer, like the guys we see in the playoffs, where they just throw them the ball and down the stretch, they get basket after basket, but he's going to be more than capable at it. And defensively, he comes in pretty damn advanced. He knows what he's doing. He locks in. You can tell he takes pride in it. He's a real threat as a chase-down shot blocker, a weak-side shot blocker. And he's got a variety of passes. He plays under control, at his own pace. The year he had, most of the guys at that level, one and done, they have some soft spots in the schedule. Like, he hasn't broken double figures in two weeks. This guy was good to great every game out, from the beginning. I mean, I get a little tired of hearing about Duke, but they have a way of doing it. He embraced it and was a great teammate. I just think he was a fabulous winning player this year, which is not always the case with these guys in that one year. … I just don't think he has any major weakness. He just may not be a guy to be all-universe as a scorer, but I think he's going to be pretty damn good. GO FURTHER 2025 NBA Draft Confidential: Coaches, execs, scouts on Cooper Flagg, top wing prospects Three No. 1 overall picks on the Mavericks roster: 2011: Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers) 2012: Anthony Davis (New Orleans Hornets) 2025: Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks) Flagg was four years old when Kyrie was drafted. He was five years old when New Orleans selected Davis. Imagn Images (1) Dallas — Cooper Flagg, PF, Duke A sigh of relief from Dallas fans, as Nico Harrison didn't trade down or select somebody else. In all seriousness, this is an absolute no-brainer of a pick. Cooper Flagg's mid-case scenario is that he's an All-Star by the end of his rookie contract, and he has MVP upside. The bigger question for Dallas is whether they should part with the rest of their veteran team and rebuild around Flagg. Imagn Images No surprise here. The Dallas Mavericks have selected 18-year-old Duke forward Cooper Flagg with the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Flagg is about as complete a prospect as I've evaluated in the years I've been doing this. I have him as the second-best prospect during my time as an evaluator since 2015, behind only Victor Wembanyama. While I think Williamson's theoretical ceiling was higher than Flagg's, Flagg's overall game on both ends of the court and his blend of skill level and craft will likely translate better to high-leverage situations. Two other factors make me pick Flagg over Williamson. First, with Flagg, there is no roster-building limitation. Because he's so complete and such an elite competitor in terms of mentality, he's an amplifier of those around him. With Williamson, you always needed to build a specific type of roster around him, likely needing to find the all-important floor-spacing center, a difficult archetype to acquire. Second, Williamson had injury concerns going back to high school. Flagg has not. The level of safety you get with Flagg drastically exceeds that of Williamson, even on draft day in 2019. I see Flagg as a future All-NBA player with his upside being that he could become a top-five player in the league. His overall impact on the game on both ends of the floor is remarkable. He's the exact kind of player you want to build your organization around in terms of temperament and mentality if you want to try to win championships. He's an immediate organizational centerpiece. GO FURTHER Dallas Mavericks make Duke's Cooper Flagg the 2025 NBA Draft's top pick Why did the Mavericks have name tags in front of all their people in the draft room? "Oh, so that's Hall of Famer Jason Kidd!" The 2025 NBA Draft is officially open. The Dallas Mavericks are on the clock... Indiana's trade for the 38th pick is a likely tell on their offseason plans to manage the luxury tax in a "gap year" the wake of Tyrese Haliburton's injury. Adding a second round pick on the rookie minimum for the Pacers' 14th roster spot will cost roughly half what a veteran's minimum would. That money is likely to matter for Indy as the Pacers seek to either skirt the tax entirely or minimize their payment. Getty Images A night of hope for fans and franchises meets the realization of life-long dreams for a group of worthy prospects. What excitement does the 2025 NBA Draft have in store? We're about to find out... The last NBA All-Star that North Carolina produced was… Vince Carter. Really. Best UNC player in the NBA today is… Coby White? Cam Johnson? Harrison Barnes? It's a stunning 20-year trend. Here's to Draft Day — someone should totally make an NBA version of that unhinged Kevin Costner movie, with Michael Fassbender as beleaguered GM of the Charlotte Hornets. One day, I'll write the script. Today, I'm looking at prop bets for the top picks. All odds via BetMGM: Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper were early locks, but there's been drastic line movement around No. 3. Baylor's VJ Edgecombe opened +150 for the third pick, and rose up to -275 last week. He's now settled in at -1000. Similarly, Duke marksman Kon Knueppel opened +900 to go No. 4. He started the week +100 and comes into tonight's broadcast at -500. Barring trade flurries, it looks like VJ to PHI is a near-certainty, and the Blue Devil marksman will indeed stay in North Carolina. Jeremiah Fears (Oklahoma) is -185 to go fifth, and Ace Bailey (Rutgers) lands at -175 for sixth. The first selection with entirely plus-odds is pick No. 7. The field there is topped by two centers, Maryland's Derik Queen (+110) and Duke's Khaman Maluach (+250). Tre Johnson is next at +500 odds, followed by Fears-Bailey-Knueppel draft tumbles. Interestingly, Queen also has the best odds for the tenth pick (+300). We are primed for a fascinating run from No. 3 through 10. Get Fassbender on the phone. Check out a few off the best fits from the 2025 NBA Draft red carpet🔥 The Pacers just pulled off a little cap gymnastics. They'll save about $1.5 million next year on a roster spot with this deal and the one last week to trade No. 23 to the Pelicans. The 23rd pick would make roughly 2.7 million as a rookie while Indiana can sign a second round pick to a second round exception contract that could start as low as $1.27 million next season. Getty Images So much for the element of surprise. Right outside of American Airlines Center, home of the Dallas Mavericks, a Cooper Flagg New Balance billboard is already hovering over Dirk Nowitzki's statue. I wonder who the Mavs will take No. 1 overall tonight... During this year's NBA Finals, the Pacers traded the No. 23 pick in this year's draft to get their own 2026 first-round pick. That allowed them to regain control over their future first-round assets, meaning they can trade their first round picks again rather than needing to worry about violating the Stepien Rule. Now, they've used a future second-round pick to get back into this year's draft and select a player at No. 38 tomorrow. Why get rid of a first-round pick and then get back into the draft with a second-round pick? Less money on your salary cap books. The potential of non-guaranteed salary and years. Greater flexibility. It will be a 2030 second round pick (via Sacramento) that will go from the Pacers to Spurs for the No. 38 overall pick this year, a team source told The Athletic. Getty Images There's been some discussion about Ratiopharm Ulm forward Noa Essengue's decision to miss the rest of the German League finals so he could attend the draft (and, reportedly, take part in a secret workout in Toronto that is now not so secret). His team is currently one game from the championship with the deciding Game 5 of the best-of-five series tomorrow, but Essengue is in New York. I'm told this wasn't a rogue move by Essengue and his camp. Ratiopharm sports director (what we would call a GM) Thorsten Leibenath left the decision up to his two players in this draft, Essengue and guard Ben Saraf. Saraf opted to stay and play, while Essengue decided to go to the draft. Getty Images One more player I'm watching today: Ousmane Dieng of Oklahoma City. The Thunder have all 15 players from their championship team under contact for next season, plus they have picks 15 and 24. One obvious move would be to package Dieng with the 24th pick so that they have a roster spot open for the guy they take at 15. Alternatively, the Thunder could trade their picks and Dieng, and use their nontaxpayer midlevel exception to add a rotation-caliber veteran forward to the mix; o they could package 15, 24 and Dieng in a trade for a big forward under contract. Basically they have lots of ways to make the sausage here, just none that involve Dieng staying on the roster.


New York Times
21 minutes ago
- New York Times
Premier League clubs have the greatest spending power – but it comes at a cost…
This summer's transfer window has endured something of a sputtering start, owing to the newly-expanded Club World Cup. Ahead of the tournament's kick-off, clubs were granted an 'exceptional registration period' between 1 and 10 June. The window was then closed for five days before it opened rather more widely last Monday; Premier League clubs can now register new signings up to 7pm on Monday, 1 September. Advertisement Despite the disjointed beginnings, things quickly settled into a familiar rhythm and, as ever, Premier League clubs lead the way in spending. At the time of writing, according to Transfermarkt, England's top 20 clubs have already spent more than €760million (£648m) on new signings, more than double Italy's Serie A, the next highest-spending league. Plenty of deals have been all-domestic affairs; one Premier League club buying from another. But even accounting for those leaves the English top tier's net spend at €412m. No other league yet tops €100m. The reason for English clubs' preeminence in the transfer market is obvious: the size of the Premier League's TV deals. Based on figures detailed in UEFA's latest European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report, the combined annual worth of the latest TV deals for La Liga, the Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 is €4.998billion. The Premier League's deal on its own for the coming season stands at €4.53bn — or 91 per cent of the rest of the 'big five' leagues combined. The actual proportion could be even higher, dependent on what happens in France this summer after the French league and broadcaster DAZN terminated their deal just one year into its five-year term. Mulling which league in world football boasts the greatest spending power this summer makes for neither lengthy nor novel conversation. It is, as it has been for a very long time, the Premier League. That remains true even after the recent rise to prominence of the Saudi Pro League. Since joining the elite transfer fray in the summer of 2023, Saudi Arabian clubs have spent at a level only the Premier League surpasses. Those same clubs benefit from near bottomless wealth and don't have to contend with the regulatory morass of English and European clubs, so there's a case to be made for the Saudi Arabian league sitting above all others. Yet much of that spending is concentrated at the four clubs the country's Public Investment Fund took control of in June 2023: Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad account for around 85 per cent of Saudi club spending since then. On the contrary, Premier League clubs spend heavily across the board. Recently promoted (and swiftly relegated) Ipswich Town spent more than £100m last summer. Bournemouth, whose average home crowd only just tops 11,000, spent £271.1m across 2022-23 and 2023-24, recouping just £5.1m in the process. That gave them the fifth-highest net spend in England over that time. Advertisement The sway of English clubs has become all too obvious in recent years. Bournemouth's ability to coax Dean Huijsen from Juventus last summer was a pretty stark example of how a Premier League side's appeal now compares to some of Europe's most illustrious clubs. Huijsen has since been sold on to Real Madrid for more than triple what Bournemouth spent. Bournemouth plainly did well in that deal but there is a price to be paid, quite literally, for Premier League supremacy. The ignition of interest from England's shores alerts clubs to the possibility of a bumper payday — if Premier League clubs are interested, they can seek to push the price up. It is why, for example, Bayer Leverkusen could command a club-record fee from Liverpool for Florian Wirtz earlier this month. If Wirtz had admirers only from within Germany, or, worse still, only from leagues of lesser quality than the Bundesliga, Leverkusen would have found it much more difficult to summon up the €136m they ultimately got from Liverpool for Wirtz's services. That's a fairly obvious point to make, one which tacks to the simple law of supply and demand. There are few world-class footballers who will command the biggest fees. Wirtz might well prove worth the nine figures Liverpool have spent but transfers are hard to compare on a like-for-like basis because a whole array of circumstances dictate the size of the eventual fee. Does the seller need to sell? Is the buyer desperate? Does the player want to move? Nevertheless, in an attempt to bring some specificity and comparability to proceedings, Twenty First Group (TFG), a sports intelligence firm, have developed an in-house player price model, trained on historical transfers with the aim of estimating how much a player might be sold for in the present-day transfer climate. Advertisement To showcase different leagues' spending power this summer, TFG pointed their model at an existing Premier League player who enjoyed a stellar season in 2024-25 (we'll keep him nameless, as Player X, for fear it looks like we're encouraging a move for him). In doing so, they highlighted clear differences in expected player values, dependent upon the purchasing club. Per TFG's example, Player X's existing club could command an estimated €58m transfer fee if they were to sell to a fellow Premier League club this summer. That amount dips to €51m if a Saudi Pro League club were the buyer, €37m from a La Liga club, €35m from the Bundesliga, €34m from Serie A and €28m from Ligue 1. If that sounds strange — why should imminent destination change a player's transfer value? — then consider that transfers don't happen in a bubble. Just by virtue of a Premier League club being interested, a player's value rises. Selling clubs are fully aware of the riches England's top-tier clubs have and barter for as big a slice as they can muster. Linked to that, since 2018-19, Premier League spending as a proportion of the 'big five' has risen from 32 per cent to 45 per cent. At the other end of the scale, the financial chaos which has enveloped French football in recent years, and shows little sign of abating any time soon, has dramatically reduced Ligue 1 clubs' spending power. Paris Saint-Germain are a clear outlier (and the fact they are can be held up as at least one reason for the diminishing financial power of the league as a whole — TFG rate the spread of quality in Ligue 1 as the least even across the 'big five' European leagues), but in general French clubs simply cannot afford to spend anywhere close to what their rivals across the English Channel manage. In 2023-24, PSG accounted for 39 per cent of Ligue 1's gross spend. While PSG might operate on a different plane to their domestic rivals, they do help highlight why it is difficult to talk about divisions as homogeneous entities when it comes to transfers. Leverkusen again offer a relevant example. Their hefty takings from Liverpool this summer for Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong have, naturally, boosted their coffers. In turn, they have more buying power than ever before. Already, they look set to break their transfer record, last set six years ago, sending in excess of £30m back to Anfield for Jarell Quansah. Big, one-off sales, or a flurry of good deals, can elevate a club's spending power well beyond what might normally be expected. That's not always the case; good sales are sometimes needed to plug gaps elsewhere. The Primeira Liga in Portugal is routinely one of the best selling leagues in world football, driven by big player profits at the trio of Benfica, Porto and Sporting. Advertisement Relative to the rest of Portugal, none of those clubs skimp on signings, but they trail most European rivals — only Benfica have broken into the top 25 spenders in Europe in any of the past three seasons. Those clubs require big sales to offset operating losses. Much the same is true of clubs in England's second tier, another division that has posted large net transfer income in recent seasons. One league on the rise in terms of spending power is Serie A. The division was third for net spend in 2024-25 and, already this summer, six of the top 20 spending clubs hail from Italy's top division. Buoyed by improving performances in Europe and the attendant wealth that brings (Italian clubs should have topped a collective €400m in UEFA prize money last season for the first time), as well as a competitive domestic league where there've been four different winners in six years, Serie A revenues are improving and their ability to buy likewise. That said, a stagnant TV deal and continued huge losses at some of its biggest clubs — Juventus lost nearly €200m pre-tax in 2023-24, Roma lost €76m — will limit how far that goes. According to TFG's model, Italian clubs get more bang for their buck than elsewhere too. When spending €20m, they estimate Serie A sides would, on average, be able to buy a player worthy of being a starter for the 12th-best Premier League club. In England, where clubs have to put up with paying a premium, €20m would only be enough for a starter at the 18th-best Premier League club. In other words, based on their analysis, Premier League clubs need to spend in excess of €20m if they want starters worthy of sides that will survive relegation. Obviously, that's not a set rule for every deal, and the source of those players has a bearing on their value. Premier League clubs enjoy the benefit of their players' values increasing by virtue of having played in the Premier League, as proven by the huge player profits relegated clubs like Southampton have been able to generate in recent years. Players reared in the league's best academies can go for huge fees. Those factors help offset the premium paid on new signings, but it remains that English football's well-known wealth means its clubs have to stomach paying more than their European peers. Thankfully for them, they tend to be able to afford it. English Premier League clubs retain their spending power, with a new TV deal only likely to add further heft to their transfer sprees. Liverpool and Manchester City top the transfer charts already, spending nearly €300m between them even before we've reached July. They and their Premier League peers will generally be able to buy as they please this summer — but that doesn't mean it's as simple as it looks. English clubs will continue to dominate transfer spending, but the huge sums they spend are in part because everyone knows they have to ability to spend it in the first place.


Business Upturn
an hour ago
- Business Upturn
Confirmed: Thomas Partey to leave Arsenal at the end of June; Fabrizio reports
Fabrizio Romano has reported that Thomas Partey is going to leave Arsenal at the end of this June month. By Ravi Kumar Jha Published on June 26, 2025, 08:28 IST Fabrizio Romano has reported that Thomas Partey is going to leave Arsenal at the end of this June month. He is leaving as a free agent, as no new deal talks were initiated with him and also player was thinking of a change. Arsenal have already signed Christian Nørgaard from Brentford as his replacement. Fabrizio Romano has reported that Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey will leave Arsenal at the end of June as a free agent. The 31-year-old, who joined the Gunners from Atlético Madrid in 2020, will depart the club after four seasons, with no new contract discussions having taken place. Partey, whose time at the Emirates was marked by both solid performances and frequent injury setbacks, was reportedly open to a new challenge. Arsenal, in turn, have moved quickly to secure his replacement. Mikel Arteta's side have already signed Brentford captain Christian Nørgaard to bolster their midfield. The Danish international brings Premier League experience and a strong defensive presence, making him a fitting successor to Partey's role in the squad. This marks a significant shift in Arsenal's midfield dynamics as they prepare for the 2025/26 season. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Ravi kumar jha is an undergraduate student in Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia and Mass Communication. A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication and he also has a genuine interest in sports. Ravi is currently working as a journalist at