When Eberechi Eze slalomed through the Latvia defence before driving home his first senior England goal, he demonstrated to a wider audience what many within the Premier League have long known – Eze is a player of the highest calibre.
The London-born star has been with Crystal Palace for five seasons now and for much of that time he has been linked with big-money moves to the big-hitters of the Premier League.
Last summer, after he’d appeared for the Three Lions on their run to the final of Euro 2024, Eze was the subject of rumours linking him with a move to Manchester City. And more recently, Tottenham, Newcastle, Manchester United and even Serie A high-flyers Napoli have been credited with a strong interest in the 26-year-old.
“Who’s a better player than Eze? For me he’s absolutely top,” Palace manager Oliver Glasner gushed after the 10-cap England star scored and assisted in a Carabao Cup victory over his former club earlier this season.
“If he was luckier this season he would have five or six goals.”
“He’s always dangerous because he has the quality and ability. He’s such an unbelievable finisher. In some situations he can improve. He’s a guy who can always score and he’s someone who everyone likes.
“This is why he’s on the pitch, because he’s able to score goals.”
With his prime years approaching and a release clause in his Palace contract rumoured to be set at around £68 million, Eze will undoubtedly be named as a potential target for the game’s elite again this summer. And the evidence of the past few years suggests he’d be value for money.
That’s because Eze is a plug-and-play attacking midfielder. That is to say he is invaluably versatile – able to play on either flank, as a No.10 or as an advanced No.8 – but it goes beyond simple versatility, too.
Eze has the skillset, intelligence and demeanour to adapt to a wide range of roles within practically any system.
For most of his time at Palace, he has operated within a team who, on average, see less of the ball that their opponents. The primary strategies the Eagles have deployed throughout his half-decade at Selhurst Park, through different managers, have been counter attacking and counter pressing.
Eze has shone in teams that can excel without possession, demonstrating the tactical discipline and work rate to press effectively in pursuit of the ball and a directness and decisiveness in attack to maximise possession once it has been won.
For example, he ranks in the 75th percentile among Premier League attacking midfielders and wingers this season for blocks per 90 minutes (1.12) and the 68th percentile for tackles per 90 (1.64).
He also ranks in the 84th percentile for successful dribbles per 90 (2.29) and the 91st percentile for shot-creating actions per 90 (4.91).
There is an economy to his work that suits his current surroundings, but the overall quality of his game – the crispness of his link play, the evasiveness of his dribbling and his ability to conjure opportunities for himself and others – would translate to even greater production in a team that enjoys more of the ball, irrespective of his position.
At long-time admirers Manchester City, for instance, it’s possible to envision Eze either providing an upgrade over Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku on the left wing or establishing himself as the heir to Kevin De Bruyne in a deeper, more central role.
The one area of his play this term that has not been as efficient as others, however, is goalscoring.
Eze has found the net just twice in the Premier League in 2024-25, despite taking 3.88 shots per 90 (which puts him in the 97th percentile among attacking midfielders and wingers in England’s top flight).
As Glasner alluded to in a media appearance back in October, Eze is desperate to score more regularly. But the fact he has not been prolific this season is, in large part, a result of bad luck with finishing and – in the case of a stunning free kick goal against Brentford disallowed on the opening weekend – unfortunate officiating.
"He had the disallowed goal at Brentford at the start of the season. He had the crossbar-post shot against West Ham where one inch decides. And he had two big chances against Manchester United. He is so close.
"He plays really well, he invests a lot, he has all the chances – and this is what I talk to him [about].
"He wants it. He says, 'I have the chances and so many situations, but I don't have the number of goals I could have.' We encourage him and we tell him, 'Come on, stay cool.'
"The chances he had against Manchester United at the end of the game – from 100 he scores 98. It isn't that he has to train, he can do it.
"Just stay relaxed and work for the team – these things you are able to do and these things will come."
Or, rather, they will come back. Eze hit double figures for league goals in each of the last two seasons. And while his scoring has declined this term, he has already equalled his best tally for assists in a Premier League campaign, with six.
And now that his first England goal is under his belt, no one would be surprised to see the supremely gifted Palace player catch a hot streak over the final weeks of the season and bring his goals haul more in line with the quality of chances he has seen (he has an expected goals total for the campaign so far of 6.1).
Palace fans will be wary of Eze getting too hot ahead of the summer, though, as it would only add further fuel to the inevitable rumour mill.
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