Arsenal, Fulham and Millwall released Premier League hotshot now worth huge £77m

Arsenal, Fulham and Millwall were three of six clubs that rejected Crystal Palace hotshot Eberechi Eze as a youngster, and now the Premier League star is now linked with a big money move.

The 25-year-old continues to dazzle for the Eagles and bagged the goal that saw Oliver Glasner's side complete a giant-killing when beating Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday. Eze has struggled with injuries in recent seasons but, when on the pitch, has turned heads.

The winger has seven goals and two assists in 22 Premier League appearances this season and has been tipped for a move away from Selhurst Park this summer with Manchester City and Spurs touted as interested parties.

CaughtOffside reported the interest in January and added that Crystal Palace will look to demand a huge £77 million to let Eze leave. That big fee could be particularly painful for the string of clubs who missed the chance to snap up Eze as a young talent.

The England international joined Crystal Palace from QPR in 2020 but bounced around youth systems as a youngster. Eze has revealed that Arsenal, Fulham, Reading and Millwall all released him when younger while Sunderland and Bristol City turned down the chance to sign him.

Eze spent five years with the Gunners as a youth, having been scouted playing for his Sunday League team. In a 2020 interview, picked up this week by The Daily Mail, he said: "At a young age, it was hard, especially being released. Me and my mum cried, everyone was so upset – that’s all you know at that age.

"But looking back at it now, that’s the start of my journey and I’m grateful to God that’s how it went. If it wasn’t for that, I may not have got the resilience, bravery, to go and be who I want to be elsewhere. It’s shaped me to be who I am today."

After his Arsenal release, Eze was picked up by Fulham and Reading before heading to Millwall. He then moved to QPR and signed for Crystal Palace for £19.5 million.