Ebereechi Eze is ready to complete his transfer to Arsenal this weekend and the deal will represent a club record sale for Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner insists that he will remember Ebereechi Eze for clutch moments – not for calling sick for his exit of Crystal Palace. Speaking on Thursday evening, the Austrian Eze, who underwent his Arsenal Medical yesterday prior to an £ 67.5 million switch to the Emirates, called him to communicate that he felt unwell for the 1-0 Conference League play-off victory in Fredrikstad.
While the 27-year-old was later present in Selhurst Park, he did not play and therefore missed the chance to say goodbye, sneak out of the back door. When asked if he was disappointed by the way things took place, Glasner said: “He is still our player but not long, so I won't talk about it.”
However, Glasner also took the chance to praise his FA Cup-winning playmaker and insisted that the inheritance of England International will remain intact for his integral contribution to the success of the club.
The 50-year-old persecuted: “He struggled at the start of the season last year, but going through this period helped him to be a better football player. I spoke very often about the crunch time, I am a big NBA fan and in the crunchime the superstars are always on the field.
“When we needed EBs in the Crunch -he was there. That is what I will always remember, with great players, if you need them, they are always there. Great players never hide, we can count on EB's in the very important games, this is what he gave to the team and Crystal Palace.”
Palace host Nottingham Forest on Sunday in a red -hot blockbuster after the fiery and explosive UEFA row of this summer, but Romain Esse – a £ 14.5 million purchase from Millwall – is not ready to replace Eze, according to Glasner.
The 20-year-old, who scored with his first touch on his Premier League debut against Brentford in January, was subsequently immersed on Anfield on the last day of last season. Glasner said when he was asked if Esse could fill the void after the departure of Eze: “Not now, honestly not now. Then we don't need any signing, but Romain played for six months at Millwall, he was good and we brought him in, but now it's about making the next steps ready for Premier League play consistent. We have consistent.”
The Eagles boss has also made it clear that he feels a like-for-like successor to Eze to recruit Eze, is an almost impossible task. Instead, he wants to bring in a player who simply drives the team ahead and improves the level of the team, just like Ismaila Sarr.
He continued: “Again, I am worried about Crystal Palace, when I asked you when I arrived, who are the most important players in the Crystal Palace attack, you say that Ebereechi Eze and Michael Olise are his way and then you have to replace them. Even at that moment I would not sit in one row.
“If we don't do the right things now, I am worried that it can go in the wrong direction very quickly. When I see what is happening around us, even more.
“Dean Henderson said it before the Frederikstad – game that we lost Michael and we could not replace him because he was too good. But with another profile and a slight change in the way we play – we can replace him and that is what Ismaila Sarr did. He is not Michael Olise, but he helped us to reach the best season Pale.”