QPR director of football Les Ferdinand has confirmed that Crystal Palace made an enquiry to sign Eberechi Eze in the January transfer window.
Ferdinand says that Palace spoke with QPR about a possible deal, although they never had a discussion regarding a transfer fee.
Speaking on The Beautiful Game Podcast (15/03/20), Ferdinand said:
Crystal Palace made an enquiry but we never got to any fee or any negotiations in terms of what it was going to take. They made an enquiry about him and that was it.
When asked about a potential summer move for Eze, Ferdinand also said:
I think that is out of our hands. We may get an offer we can’t refuse.
Eze could be the signing Palace need to spark their attack into life next season in order to make a push for the European places. Palace are currently sat just outside of the top 10, but adding a player like Eze to maximise their attacking potential could add another dimension to their play and make them a force to be reckoned with outside of the top six.
The 21-year-old has been superb for QPR in the Championship this season and is currently on 12 goals and eight assists for the London club. James McArthur has the most assists in the Palace squad this season with just three. This shows that Palace have an issue with creativity, as they have struggled to find a consistent source of chance creation in the Premier League.
Eze is creating 1.9 chances per game in the Championship for QPR, whilst Luka Miliovjevic tops that stat for Palace with 1.1 chance created per game – with just one assist to his name.
The England U21 international could, therefore, add a creative spark that Palace have been missing. His clever play in the number 10 role could also free up the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew to do more in the final third, with Eze potentially easing the goalscoring burden on them with his late runs into the box.
