How Arsenal silently hijacked Spurs’ Eberechi Eze transfer well before anyone knew

Just hours before Arsenal clinched a deal for Eberechi Eze, in an even crueller twist, Tottenham Hotspur finally put in the offer they felt would be acceptable to Crystal Palace. There had been a verbal agreement. Spurs just never got a proper answer. The reason soon became clear.

After days of difficult and painstaking negotiations between Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish, Arsenal had appeared to steal in within a matter of mere hours. That has already seen this move cast as the mother of all transfer hijackings, especially as it appears to be another North London derby victory.

Except, it wasn’t really a hijacking at all. It can now be revealed that Arsenal had actually struck the principles of an agreement with Palace as early as the morning of Sunday 10 August. They managed to keep it extraordinarily quiet, as illustrated by how it was only after Wednesday evening’s shock revelation that multiple sources were willing to talk about it.

There was also the fact that, in those nine days, it didn’t look like Arsenal would follow through on that agreement. The word put out was that they wanted to sell before making any other purchase, and that they preferred a left winger. Interest in Eze was repeatedly played down. There had been a lot of mixed messages, which fit with the whole summer in regards to the Palace star.

Levy might certainly feel he’s had mixed messages now. The situation has led to some surprising sympathy for him within the game – if also considerable schadenfreude. Their own negotiations for Eze had encountered repeated difficulties, as first reported by The Independent on Saturday night. The problems actually preceded that. Talks almost collapsed the Thursday before, and there were constant hold-ups over issues like add-ons and how much was being paid up front. When one issue was solved, another would arise.

One description over the last few days was that “the deal is both almost done and constantly at the point of collapse”. There is now a belief, especially within Spurs, that Palace were stalling. They were waiting for Arsenal to come back, since competition would mean getting a better price.

It nevertheless looked so remote by Saturday that Eze himself had accepted Arsenal wasn’t going to happen. He even spoke to Parish to try and get a Spurs move sorted, as Levy and the Palace chairman met on Monday morning. Tottenham looked like they had a clear run. Eze was genuinely excited about joining the club. It just wasn’t the one he really wanted. His dream was a move to Arsenal.

Then suddenly, it looked like it would become a reality on Wednesday morning. Arsenal finally acted on that deal. That abrupt move will be linked to Kai Havertz’s injury, but there is actually hope the German’s absence won’t be for too long, maybe less than three months. The Havertz news just accelerated everything. Arsenal wanted to make sure they didn’t miss out.

Parish and Arsenal executive vice-chairman Tim Lewis have a closer relationship than Parish and Levy, even if they often bicker. They WhatsApp each other a lot about regulations and other in-game issues. That helped the acceleration of talks on Wednesday, especially since they had that Sunday 10 August agreement.

Another advantage for Arsenal is that they have more players they can offer Palace in positions they need strengthening. It is possible that a deal will next be done for Jakub Kiwior, given how Oliver Glasner’s side need a centre-half. Any such sale would still be a separate transfer.

Arsenal, for their part, still had to pay more than the initial agreement to ensure they actually beat Spurs to the signing. Whereas Arsenal’s previous structure had been for £50m plus £10m in add-ons, the new deal is for £60m and £7.5m in add-ons – pretty much exactly Eze’s release clause, which expired for this window on Thursday. It is understood to have been superior to Spurs’ final offer.

Parish played his part masterfully. He got the best possible deal for his club, which was the best-case scenario if you’re forced to lose one of the club’s greatest legends. Eze did just deliver the first major trophy in the club’s history. Queens Park Rangers will also be celebrating, since they stand to receive 15 per cent of any deal. The Loftus Road hierarchy will now be aiming to complete more business of their own, as they now have the most money they’ve had in years.

Eze has ultimately preferred Arsenal because they offer better opportunities for more trophies than just the FA Cup – honours which he can influence – but also because of his dream. The connection was there. Eze trained at Arsenal until he was 13. When he posted on Instagram on 26 May, celebrating Palace’s FA Cup success, the fifth and last picture was a conspicuous image of Ian Wright.

Oliver Glasner on Thursday all-but confirmed Eze has played his last game in a Crystal Palace shirt. He said the attacker pulled out on the day of their historic 1-0 Conference League play-off victory over Fredrikstad.

Glasner revealed he received a phone call from Eze, who said he was not feeling well enough to play. “I’m responsible for Crystal Palace and I think he won’t play for us again,” said Glasner when asked to confirm whether Eze was heading to the Emirates Stadium.

This is a huge transfer, with a lot of money at stake. Levy knows the cost of that now. He will face even greater questions having lost out on two big transfers late on this summer, including Morgan Gibbs-White. Fan protests at Spurs are likely to heat up again.