The Independent reported that Arsenal's robbery of Eze was not a real interception. They discussed related matters with Crystal Palace around August 10. It is reported that just a few hours before Arsenal finalized Eze's deal, Tottenham fina...
The Independent reported that Arsenal's robbery of Eze was not a real interception. They discussed related matters with Crystal Palace around August 10.
It is reported that just a few hours before Arsenal finalized Eze's deal, Tottenham finally made a offer they thought Crystal Palace would accept. The two sides had an oral agreement, but Tottenham never received a clear answer. After several difficult negotiations between Levi and Parish, Arsenal seemed to have suddenly stepped in in just a few hours, a move seen as a "textbook case" in all transfer interception operations, especially as another victory in the North London derby.
However, this is not actually a real "intercept". The Independent disclosed that Arsenal had reached a principled agreement with Crystal Palace as early as Sunday morning, August 10, and they did a very good job of keeping the matter confidentiality. It was not until after the sensation on Wednesday night that multiple sources were willing to talk about it.
In addition, during these nine days, Arsenal does not seem to be planning to fulfill the agreement. There are rumors that they hope to sell players first and then buy new players, and they prefer to introduce a left winger, and their interest in Eze has been repeatedly diluted. There is a lot of news about Arsenal and the Crystal Palace star throughout the summer. Levi must have a deep understanding now. This situation even made some people in the football world feel unexpectedly sympathetic to the Tottenham chairman. Tottenham has encountered many difficulties in negotiating the introduction of Eze, and the problem has actually existed before this. Negotiations almost broke down on Thursday the previous week, and were constantly blocked on issues such as floating clauses and down payments. One problem has just been resolved and another problem has emerged.
There is a saying in the past few days: "Eze's deal seems to be about to be completed, but it may fail at any time." Now some people believe that, especially within Tottenham, Crystal Palace has been delaying time and waiting for Arsenal to return to negotiate.
However, on Saturday, the situation seemed very slim, and Eze himself accepted the fact that there was no hope of joining Arsenal. He even communicated with Parrish in hopes of advancing his transfer. Levi had met with Parrish at that time. Eze was indeed excited about joining Tottenham, but this was not his real wish. His dream was to join Arsenal.
On Wednesday morning, this dream suddenly had the possibility of realization. Arsenal finally took action on the deal. Although this change is related to Havertz's injury, people actually hope that the German will not be out of place for too long, and may be less than three months. Havertz's injury only accelerated everything, and Arsenal hoped to make sure that it would not miss the opportunity.
Parrish has a closer relationship with Arsenal executive vice-president Lewis than he has with Levi, although they also often argue that they often discuss rules and other game-related issues through WhatsApp. This worked on Wednesday, especially considering the agreement reached on Sunday, August 10. In addition, Arsenal can also provide more players that Crystal Palace needs. Given that Glasner's team needs a left-wing centre-back, it's possible that Kiviol's trade will be completed next.
In the case of Arsenal, they ended up paying more than the initial agreement to ensure they could beat Tottenham to complete the deal. The previous agreement was a £50 million base fee plus a £10 million floating clause, while the transaction was a £60 million base fee plus a £7.5 million floating clause, which was almost exactly consistent with Eze's termination fee, which had expired before the transfer window ended on Thursday. It is reported that Arsenal's offer is better than Tottenham's offer.
Eze finally chose Arsenal not only because Arsenal can provide more opportunities to win than the FA Cup, but also because it was his dream and he had a deep connection with Arsenal. On May 26, Eze celebrated the FA Cup victory of Crystal Palace on Instagram, the fifth and final image posted was a conspicuous photo of Ian Wright.
