Tottenham Hotspur agree deal in principle for Eberechi Eze

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal in principle to sign England international Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

The 27-year-old attacking midfielder, who has been a key figure for Palace since he arrived from Queens Park Rangers, is set to join Spurs following advanced negotiations between the two clubs.

The deal is reported to be around an initial £55 million, with additional performance-related bonuses taking the total outlay to around £60m.

Palace had initially been holding out for Eze’s full £67.5m release clause, which expired just before the start of the new Premier League season.

Eze was strongly linked with a switch to Arsenal earlier this summer, but is now closing in on a move to the other half of north London.

He has agreed personal terms with Tottenham for a five-year contract and will become their seventh signing of the summer transfer window with Champions League football on the horizon.

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank is eager to bolster his attacking options after the loss of James Maddison to injury. Heung-min Son also left the club after a decade-long stint.

While a move to Tottenham is now imminent for Eze, Palace would like to bring in a new replacement before finalising the exit of their most prized asset.

Club Brugge’s Christos Tzolis and Leicester’s Bilal El Khannouss are both high in Palace’s thinking, although the latter has been deemed not for sale by his current employers.