Manchester City are weighing up an approach for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze amid growing uncertainty over the future of Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne has one year on his contract and is wanted by the Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad. He admitted last month that he could be tempted to leave City because of the “incredible money” on offer in the Saudi Pro League but reports over the weekend that he has agreed a contract with the team who recently appointed Laurent Blanc as manager are understood to be wide of the mark.
City, though, are believed to be preparing for the 33-year-old’s potential departure and see Eze, who made three substitute appearances for England at Euro 2024, as a possible replacement. Pep Guardiola is understood to rate the 26-year-old highly and City came close to bidding for Eze last summer before signing Matheus Nunes – the Portugal international who has been used sparingly – from Wolves for about £50m.
Palace are determined to hang on to their star attacker after selling Michael Olise to Bayern Munich. The contract Eze signed last November has three years to run and is believed to contain a release clause with a minimum fee of £60m, although the cost could be up to £70m with add‑ons included.
Marseille have signed Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg on loan for the season, with an obligation to buy the Denmark international for a fee that could rise to £16.8million.
Højbjerg [pictured], who joined Spurs from Southampton in August 2020, leaves having made 143 Premier League appearances during his time in north London. The 28-year-old was expecting a diminished role last season until an injury crisis for head coach Ange Postecoglou led to him playing 39 times in all competitions.
In a statement, Tottenham said: "Pierre's finest moment in a Spurs shirt came against the team he's now joining, when he fired home a late winner in the Stade Vélodrome to secure top spot in Group D of the Champions League in 2022.vWe wish Pierre all the best for the future."
Højbjerg, who will play under the former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi in France, is one of a number of players to have left Spurs this summer, among them Eric Dier who has joined Bayern Munich permanently after a spell on loan and Ivan Perisic, who has returned to his native Croatia with Hajduk Split. PA Media
Eze has also attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham this summer but it remains to be seen whether they can afford such a hefty fee given the restrictions on spending imposed by the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules. Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Riccardo Calafiori after agreeing to pay €40m (£33.6m) plus €5m in bonuses to Bologna for the Italy defender. The 22-year-old should complete his move once the Serie A side agree terms over a 50% sell‑on fee to the Swiss club Basel.
Palace have an interest in signing Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe but face competition from Fulham for the forward. Palace have had an offer for their longstanding target Ismaïla Sarr rejected by Marseille, where the Senegal forward has failed to settle after leaving Watford last year. Southampton are reported to have made a £12m bid for Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, although Palace are believed to prefer to loan out the 21-year-old forward.
