Rio Ferdinand has picked out Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze as an ideal long-term replacement for Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Eze previously played for Arsenal at youth level but he made his debut in senior football with Championship side QPR.
The 24-year-old earned a lot of plaudits for his performances before he was snapped up by Crystal Palace for around £17m in 2020.
His progress was hampered by a serious injury last season but he has been in stunning form since Roy Hodgson replaced Patrick Vieira. He has got on the scoresheet three times in recent wins over Southampton and Leeds United.
Eze is capable of eventually stepping up to play at a higher level and transfermarkt value him at £26m ahead of this summer transfer window.
Ferdinand has loved what he’s seen from Eze in recent weeks. He thinks he would be “good at Arsenal” and a suitable replacement for Xhaka.
“Smooth. If you’re talking about one of the smoothest ballers in the game, in the Premier League right now, Eze’s up there,” Ferdinand said via Vibe with Five YouTube channel.
“Mad player. He’s playing like he’s in the cage. Just smooth, man. He doesn’t seem fazed either. Every situation you put him in, he’s just calm.
“And he’s in that position where he turns and faces up midfielders or defenders; he can go past people, slip people in and finish. He’d be good at Arsenal, you know. In the [Granit] Xhaka position. Another year.”
This comes after former Feyenoord player Jan Boskamp boldly told Koffie met Boskamp that Xhaka is “on his last legs”, even with him being one of Arsenal’s best players this term.
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Eze has previously spoken openly about how heartbroken he was when Arsenal told him that they were letting him go.
“I’m 13 at the time, and prior to this everyone was being offered two-year contracts and I was offered one, so immediately I’m already in tears about that,” Eze told Premier League Productions.
“So that year’s now over and I was called into a meeting and they told me, ‘Listen we don’t think you’re going to excel here’. I just remember before he even finished speaking I was already gone, in tears.
“You’re trying to hold it in, you’re trying to be grateful, saying ‘thank you’ and just trying to get out of there, but it was so overwhelming. I just remember walking down the stairs and thinking, this is…
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