QPR star Eberechi Eze is someone who’s been linked with a potential move to St James’ Park on several occasions this summer – and it seems the race to sign him has stepped up a notch.
Both The Athletic and The Chronicle have confirmed our interest in the 22-year-old attacker in recent weeks following his outstanding season in Championship, which saw him bag 14 goals and 8 assists from midfield.
As reported by The Guardian’s Ed Aarons, Crystal Palace have had a £12m bid ‘plus add-ons’ rejected by QPR, with him revealing this morning that an asking price of £16m ‘up front’ has been set for the England U-21 star.
A reasonable asking price for an extremely exciting attacking talent, although it seems we’d face stiff competition, with Crystal Palace, West Ham and West Brom all in the mix according to The Guardian.
Interestingly, here’s what QPR director of football and former Mag, Les Ferdinand, had to say back in June about rumours linking Eze with a possible move to Tyneside:
“If you pay enough money for him, you can get him!
“I’ll be giving him a glowing report in terms of what it’s like up there.
“It’s a great place to go and play football but as long as you lot match our asking price, you can have him, no problem!
“People have been asking me about him, even the club said lots of people are talking about him, and I said he’s probably in the top six players I’ve seen in terms of his ability to control and pass a ball.
“He’s got so much more to come.
“He will be a superstar if he keeps his head on and goes to the right place.”
Our limited budget (believed to be around £35m plus player sales) may lead us elsewhere in the end, especially when the signing of a goalscorer must be prioritised, however this feels like a deal that will prove to be an absolute bargain in a few years time.
Even in a post-COVID transfer market, £16m for a player of his immense potential seems like a steal to me!
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