Tottenham closes in on the signing of Eberechi Eze to replace starting No. 10 James Maddison, who went down with a torn ACL during pre-season. The move was confirmed yesterday by Fabrizio Romano and would be Spurs’ second major offensive addition for the 2025/26 season.
Eze has already expressed his desire to play for Tottenham earlier in the season. With a reported price tag of 55 million pounds plus another 5 million in bonuses, Crystal Palace seems willing to let the striker go, especially now that Arsenal looks to be out of the race for the Premier League star.
As Savinho talks seemed to have faded out, Eze would be the answer for Thomas Frank’s attack. The Danish manager still has to fill the Heung-min Son left hole on the squad, and so the move deserves a look at its top 5 winners and losers.
The winners and losers of Tottenham signing Eberechi Eze this summer
WINNER: Tottenham
Of course, signing a young star should always seem like a win. But with a reduced price tag and 14 goals in the last season, including the strike on the FA Cup final that led to the Eagles’ victory over Manchester City, the deal looks even better.
With James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski sidelined for the foreseeable future, Eze would be expected to start as soon as possible, alongside fellow newcomer Mohammed Kudus.
LOSER: Thomas Frank
Even though Eze’s signing is an overall win, the move also means that Spurs are most likely to stop pursuing Savinho from Manchester City. The Brazilian striker is on top of Thomas Frank’s wish list, and would be another Premier League starter-level player to join Tottenham’s attack.
WINNER: Eberechi Eze
Before the start of the 2025/26 Premier League, Eze had expressed a desire to join Tottenham. Furthermore, Thomas Frank is seen as a very flexible manager who could develop the striker both as a center attacking midfielder and on the left wing, giving more options to the starting line-up.
LOSER: James Maddison
Not only did the Spurs No. 10 suffer a brutal injury when playing Newcastle United during pre-season, and it’s not expected to return before the end of the 2025/26 season, but now he has a new teammate to take his starting spot.
Of course, Thomas Frank could try to play both when Maddison comes back, and also having a star player to help pace his return is a luxury not many teams have. However, James Maddison’s starting role is very much in danger until further notice.
WINNER: Crystal Palace
The Eagles were probably expecting to let Exe go for the 68 million pounds fee that was active until the start of the season. Even though it has been reported that the 27-year-old will join Tottenham for 55 million pounds with 5 million pounds in bonuses, the sale is still a step up from the 17 million pounds they reportedly signed Eze for back in 2020. Crystal Palace fans will have a bittersweet goodbye to a team star, but they will never forget the five years of football Eze gave them.
LOSER: Arsenal
The Gunners were keen on signing Eze before finalizing the contract extension of Ethan Nwaneri, who was entering the last year of his contract. Their delay in signing the extension also helped save time for Tottenham, leading to the end of the 68 million pound transfer fee and eventually helping Eze join the Spurs for a lower price tag.