Manchester City Ready to Make Eberechi Eze Their Next Summer Signing

Manchester City are ready to make Eberechi Eze their next summer signing having seen an £85million deal for Lucas Paqueta collapse this week.

The Treble winners are desperate for an extra creative midfielder after losing out on Paqueta and having sold winger Riyad Mahrez, who scored 78 goals in a five-year spell with City, to Saudi Pro League team Al-Ahli for £30m.

The loss of captain Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona, on a free, and Kevin de Bruyne’s latest injury have exacerbated their need.

Eberechi Eze Fits the Bill for Pep Guardiola’s Side

Now, with the Paqueta deal off until January at least, the Premier League champions are eyeing Crystal Palace midfielder Eze, who can also play out wide, who fits the bill for Pep Guardiola’s side. He won a first England cap against Malta in June.

He has impressed at Selhurst Park since joining the Eagles from QPR in the summer of 2020 and City are believed to have been monitoring his performances over the last six months in particular.

Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish Likely to Set Asking Price of Over £70m

Palace chairman and co-owner Steve Parish, though, is likely to set an asking price of over £70m for his star man, having already lost out-of-contract talisman Wilfried Zaha to Turkish giants Galatasaray this summer.

Chelsea appeared be about to snap up another Eagles star, winger Michael Olise, only to see the France Under-21 international instead pen a new contract at the south London club last week.

City Also Agreed to Sign Rennes Winger Jeremy Doku for £55.4m

So City are prepared to fork out a large fee to try and get their hands on Eze, although it will leave Parish just a week left to replace him before the summer transfer window closes. Eze is also reportedly a target for Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, who wants to bolster his options to play a more attacking brand of football and has money to spend after the £100m sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich this month.

City have also agreed to sign Rennes winger Jeremy Doku for £55.4m and have Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes as an option if they fail to land Eze, for whom previous club Rangers would take 20 per cent of any transfer fee.

Conclusion

Manchester City are ready to make Eberechi Eze their next summer signing as they look to bolster their midfield options. Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish is likely to set an asking price of over £70m for his star man, while City have also agreed to sign Rennes winger Jeremy Doku for £55.4m. It remains to be seen if City will be able to land their man before the summer transfer window closes.