Arsenal instructed ideal route to block £68m Man United transfer
There is one way Arsenal may be able to block Eberechi Eze's move to Manchester United following the news Erik ten Hag's side are looking to bolster their attacking options.
Eze, 26, stayed at Crystal Palace this summer despite interest from a number of Premier League clubs including Chelsea and Tottenham. A bidding war was perhaps anticipated but his £68million release clause is thought to have put clubs off.
Palace meanwhile, had no intention to sell Eze following the departure of fellow winger Michael Olise to Bayern Munich for £50m. Eze will remain at Selhurst Park until at least January when his release clause will be active again.
United, who loaned out Jadon Sancho to Chelsea, plan to sign a new winger and have Eze on their list. United boss Ten Hag currently has Alejandro Garnacho and Amad as wingers, though both are still raw, while Marcus Rashford has been out of form and Antony has struggled to make an impact.
Speaking after the closure of the window, Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted he was ‘worried’ about losing another key player following the sales of Olise and Joachim Andersen. "I was really worried from a club point of view of losing Michael and Ebbs (Eberechi Eze) in the same window," he told Sky Sports News.
"We didn't have in Ebbs the interest that I thought we would have. I was astounded. Genuinely astounded. I mean, the guy's just an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person."
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta told Arsenal have their own Yaya Toure as huge Rodri Man City point made
READ MORE: Arsenal make final Jorginho transfer decision as alternative exit route emerges
According to the Manchester Evening News, United are looking to bolster their attacking options next summer. The club are also said to be looking to sign a defender and midfielder.
With that said, Arsenal's way to block Eze's potential move to Old Trafford from materialising, will be if they enter negotiations with Palace in the new year. Parish also suggested Palace will not stand in the way of players wanting to progress their career by joining a Champions League club which Arsenal can offer.
"We're proud of the fact that Michael Olise's gone to Bayern Munich," he added. "We want to be selling to the top clubs, or to clubs like Newcastle who've got great aspirations and have recently been in the Champions League.
"So we have to manage all of those things. We won't get really great young talent to come to us if they think they're going to be stuck. We want to be playing in the Champions League but the reality is we don't right now.
"That's what players want to achieve in their career and we respect that and we respect the fact that sometimes we're going to be a pathway to that."