Eberechi Eze

I’m the other way around I think Olise is a bit overrated. He comes inside onto his left nearly every time he’s on the ball. maybe he’s got quicker feet than say Kulu but he’s as predictable in what he’s going to do. Half my family are Palace fans so do watch a fair bit of them. I’d say Eze is a better pure footballer, just needs to work harder off the ball. When he was at QPR and played on the left he went on the outside and beat players more often than Olise does on his side.

i think just because Palace want him more involved people dismiss what he could do out wide. he can beat people no problem and although he’s predominantly right footed his balance and drop of the shoulder means he can go by people on either foot. Not sure I’d 100% want either because of injury and price but out of the two Eze is the better

kendoddsdadsdogsdead said:

I’m the other way around I think Olise is a bit overrated. He comes inside onto his left nearly every time he’s on the ball. maybe he’s got quicker feet than say Kulu but he’s as predictable in what he’s going to do. Half my family are Palace fans so do watch a fair bit of them. I’d say Eze is a better pure footballer, just needs to work harder off the ball. When he was at QPR and played on the left he went on the outside and beat players more often than Olise does on his side.

i think just because Palace want him more involved people dismiss what he could do out wide. he can beat people no problem and although he’s predominantly right footed his balance and drop of the shoulder means he can go by people on either foot. Not sure I’d 100% want either because of injury and price but out of the two Eze is the better

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Excellent analysis.

A top scout would be looking for that and recognizing it. Does he have the qualities to play off the left etc

kendoddsdadsdogsdead said:

I’m the other way around I think Olise is a bit overrated. He comes inside onto his left nearly every time he’s on the ball. maybe he’s got quicker feet than say Kulu but he’s as predictable in what he’s going to do. Half my family are Palace fans so do watch a fair bit of them. I’d say Eze is a better pure footballer, just needs to work harder off the ball. When he was at QPR and played on the left he went on the outside and beat players more often than Olise does on his side.

i think just because Palace want him more involved people dismiss what he could do out wide. he can beat people no problem and although he’s predominantly right footed his balance and drop of the shoulder means he can go by people on either foot. Not sure I’d 100% want either because of injury and price but out of the two Eze is the better

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Not to mention he would excel in the no 10 role in replace of Maddison

Montalbano said:

Not to mention he would excel in the no 10 role in replace of Maddison

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Yeah maybe but we already have Maddison

HildoSpur said:

Yeah maybe but we already have Maddison

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Who spent ~3 months out this season. We could’ve used a player like Eze.

HildoSpur said:

Yeah maybe but we already have Maddison

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And when he is injured or knackered? We don’t have anyone to really fill that role which was the problem when he was injured.

KirstyG said:

And when he is injured or knackered? We don’t have anyone to really fill that role which was the problem when he was injured.

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Kulusevski did pretty well there. A few versatile players could be handy and if Eze can fit more than one role for us he could be a good signing.

dontcallme said:

Kulusevski did pretty well there. A few versatile players could be handy and if Eze can fit more than one role for us he could be a good signing.

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Kulu is shagged to bits and will need breaks at some point. We need to as a fan base stop worrying quite so much as who in our current first 11 get bumped. We all need a situation where we can sub on proper quality on the regular.

KirstyG said:

Kulu is shagged to bits and will need breaks at some point. We need to as a fan base stop worrying quite so much as who in our current first 11 get bumped. We all need a situation where we can sub on proper quality on the regular.

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Also we'll have Europe next season so injuries will be more of an issue, which is worrying after this season. Hopefully a lot of that was adapting to Ange's style of football.

KirstyG said:

And when he is injured or knackered? We don’t have anyone to really fill that role which was the problem when he was injured.

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We have Kulusevski and soon we have Bergval

HildoSpur said:

Yeah maybe but we already have Maddison

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Interestingly Ange said post match yesterday "we need more players like Maddison"

I like fun. Eze is fun. We should buy Eze.

RuskyM said:

I like fun. Eze is fun. We should buy Eze.

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Reported to Mods for blatantly being Spursking.

Cavehillspur said:

Interestingly Ange said post match yesterday "we need more players like Maddison"

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Im sure what he meant was more players with his attitude and ability rather than more players in his postion.

HildoSpur said:

We have Kulusevski and soon we have Bergval

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Deki is not a natural fit for AM, he's filled in to varying degrees this season and can continue to provide round peg square hole cover in the future, but we need a proper Maddison alternative.

Bergval is 18 and has scored 4 goals in his 42 career appearances. In a year or two he may be a Maddison alternative, but not for next season and certainly not if next season we need him to step in during a CL match.

brasil_spur said:

Deki is not a natural fit for AM, he's filled in to varying degrees this season and can continue to provide round peg square hole cover in the future, but we need a proper Maddison alternative.

Bergval is 18 and has scored 4 goals in his 42 career appearances. In a year or two he may be a Maddison alternative, but not for next season and certainly not if next season we need him to step in during a CL match.

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I think Deki did well as the number 10 personally and it suits him quite well. Bergval looks a great talent and yes he will need time I get that and remember we also have Donley and Lo Celso. As much as I love bringing in new players, the AM position to me is one where we have plenty of players who can step in if needed. I'd much rather we focus on a rotation for Udogie and Porro rather than looking for a Maddison rotation.

Apparently we put his whole entourage up in their own box when we played Palace last week. I know there's the agency connection but it does seem a strange thing to do for a visiting player unless we were flirting.

philll said:

Apparently we put his whole entourage up in their own box when we played Palace last week. I know there's the agency connection but it does seem a strange thing to do for a visiting player unless we were flirting.

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Maybe they paid for it.

brasil_spur said:

Deki is not a natural fit for AM, he's filled in to varying degrees this season and can continue to provide round peg square hole cover in the future, but we need a proper Maddison alternative.

Bergval is 18 and has scored 4 goals in his 42 career appearances. In a year or two he may be a Maddison alternative, but not for next season and certainly not if next season we need him to step in during a CL match.

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There is also Gio plus there is Donley and Devine we need to consider. Not that they will or won't be here next season but it's not just Kulu who is an option there.

I think the big question re Kulu is where do we see him long term. I feel like the answer to that question has a knock on effect to our business come summer. Personally i don't see him as a great fit for the RW role in this system, as a rotation option there sure but not as a starter. However If we keep him out there then we don't really have room for another RW, unless we intend to move Johnson left permanently. Of course if we do that then we don't need another player on the left.

On the flip side if we do see his future being at AM then that reduces our need for another AM to pretty much zero. In the few occasions he has played there I actually think he has looked bright but the sample size is too small to really know one way or the other. I personally wouldn't discount it tho at this stage. Ether way Ange will have a pretty good idea which role he thinks suits him best going forward so it remains to be seen what he decides.

If we don't think he is right for the AM position and we don't want to retain Gio and we don't think Donley, Devine or Bergvall can do a job there i can see an argument for getting another AM. Personally tho even if the above is the case I don't think its a position you pay £60 + mil for. Not when you take into consideration what else is needed.

My feeling is that our wings are the weakest part of our squad currently. I think we have a lot of very solid squad players there who are all capable of putting in a shift but none are of the required level needed in order for us to push for the very top. Assuming Son remains at CF obviously. I just think we are lacking that one peace of real quality in the wide areas that would help to elevate the rest of the front line.

The reality is we aren't going to be spending 60+ mil on more then one player so we have to be selective on who that one player is. For me that player is a natural winger not an AM or a hybrid WF/AM. Neto would have been an excellent target but with his injury concerns it probably makes less sense now but a player in his mould who ideally is comfortable playing on ether wing. Williams is another good example if he were a realistic option.

Sure if the money is there and we don't think we have other options already in the squad who can play in the AM role then Eze becomes a more attractive prospect as long as its alongside a natural winger. But for me, as our only significant attacking addition it doesn't make much sense.

Taking into consideration the finances we have and looking at where else the squad needs strengthening, if we really felt AM needed reinforcing alongside a WF i think it would make more sense to target someone younger with potential who would likely be cheaper but is already performing at a decent level. Essentially a player like Udogie or Sarr when they finally joined our first team this season. Someone like Oscar Glokukh, El Khannouss, Can Uzun or even Matías Soulé would all be good hypothetical additions if we really wanted another option at AM. For me that would be more of a sensible move when taking into consideration what else is needed come summer.

As i've said before, my concern over moving for Eze has nothing to do with if he is a good player or not. Its just I struggle to see the logic in it when considering what this team needs and how much he would cost.

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Ghost Hardware said:

There is also Gio plus there is Donley and Devine we need to consider. Not that they will or won't be here next season but it's not just Kulu who is an option there.

I think the big question re Kulu is where do we see him long term. I feel like the answer to that question has a knock on effect to our business come summer. Personally i don't see him as a great fit for the RW role in this system, as a rotation option there sure but not as a starter. However If we keep him out there then we don't really have room for another RW, unless we intend to move Johnson left permanently. Of course if we do that then we don't need another player on the left.

On the flip side if we do see his future being at AM then that reduces our need for another AM to pretty much zero. In the few occasions he has played there I actually think he has looked bright but the sample size is too small to really know one way or the other. I personally wouldn't discount it tho at this stage. Ether way Ange will have a pretty good idea which role he thinks suits him best going forward so it remains to be seen what he decides.

If we don't think he is right for the AM position and we don't want to retain Gio and we don't think Donley, Devine or Bergvall can do a job there i can see an argument for getting another AM. Personally tho even if the above is the case I don't think its a position you pay £60 + mil for. Not when you take into consideration what else is needed.

My feeling is that our wings are the weakest part of our squad currently. I think we have a lot of very solid squad players there who are all capable of putting in a shift but none are of the required level needed in order for us to push for the very top. Assuming Son remains at CF obviously. I just think we are lacking that one peace of real quality in the wide areas that would help to elevate the rest of the front line.

The reality is we aren't going to be spending 60+ mil on more then one player so we have to be selective on who that one player is. For me that player is a natural winger not an AM or a hybrid WF/AM. Neto would have been an excellent target but with his injury concerns it probably makes less sense now but a player in his mould who ideally is comfortable playing on ether wing. Williams is another good example if he were a realistic option.

Sure if the money is there and we don't think we have other options already in the squad who can play in the AM role then Eze becomes a more attractive prospect as long as its alongside a natural winger. But for me, as our only significant attacking addition it doesn't make much sense.

Taking into consideration the finances we have and looking at where else the squad needs strengthening, if we really felt AM needed reinforcing alongside a WF i think it would make more sense to target someone younger with potential who would likely be cheaper but is already performing at a decent level. Essentially a player like Udogie or Sarr when they finally joined our first team this season. Someone like Oscar Glokukh, El Khannouss, Can Uzun or even Matías Soulé would all be good hypothetical additions if we really wanted another option at AM. For me that would be more of a sensible move when taking into consideration what else is needed come summer.

As i've said before, my concern over moving for Eze has nothing to do with if he is a good player or not. Its just I struggle to see the logic in it when considering what this team needs and how much he would cost.

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Solid post and I agree with some of it.

I'd say it all comes down to our ambitions for next season.

IF we finish 4th and get CL this season then both Ange and the club will be aiming higher than that for next season. That means top 4 as minimum with a cup and/or title challenge.

That means we need a strong squad, not one that can "make do" with only 1 game per week.

Lo Celso hasn't shown that he can step up to that level with us and under Ange his injuries are back. He's clearly a talented player but IMO not suited to the intensity of the PL.

Both Donley and Devine look like great prospects, but they aren't at the level where they can be regulars in a PL, CL and cup challenging team. On that point I think Eze would need to step up a little from his current level to be that type of player, but he's been proving himself consistently in the PL for a couple of seasons now so I think he's at that point where he can.

I don't see why we wouldn't want two top quality AMs next season, with one of Donley, Devine or Bergval (not sure he's an AM though) to be part of the squad.

So I personally think, with the ambition we will have next season, there's no other option but to bring in an AM.

Now onto Eze:

I don't think his price will be in the £60m region, two seasons ago sure, but with PRS kicking in hard player values are going to start to drop, if for no other reason than the lower league teams not having the money and the higher league teams needing to be really careful on where they spend their more limited funds.

So let's say the deal is do-able at around £45-50m (some if being add-ons). He's young enough for it to be sensible to spread that over 5 years and so we're addressing a key position (IMO) in a proper way for a sensible amount.

Plus he's homegrown and CT for Europe, so that's a big plus. And he's with CAA Base - so we know the deal is achievable if we want it, rather than it getting strung out and complicated by agents we don't know well.

In terms of overall squad investment, I agree that we need to bring in one winger this summer. I think in Werner and Johnson we have two good, pacey players that can contribute to goals and assists, but we need a 3rd. Given that Johnson is versatile across the left and right, bringing in a right winger is key.

There aren't any stand out right wingers in the prem right now who we could get, apart from Neto who we should avoid due to injuries. So that means a player from abroad and thus someone that isn't homegrown.

I think with a new AM and a new Right Winger, plus bringing in Werner on a perm deal, we're then set for forward signings in the summer.

We then need to bring in another No. 6 / CDM to rotate and compete with Bissouma and there's then questions at CB and LB cover.