Crystal Palace must now move to sign 'really good' Eberechi Eze replacement after club reject bid - opinion

Crystal Palace could now be called into action after a Premier League rival saw an offer rejected for a player who could be the ideal Eberechi Eze replacement. The Eagles are now in the thick of their summer preparations as they prepare for a season that will include European football of some sort.

Palace are still looking to make it into the Europa League after winning the FA Cup, but they face a fight to get back into UEFA’s secondary competition after being demoted to the Conference League due to concerns over John Textor also owning Lyon. Though, Palace have launched an appeal, and their appeal should be helped by the fact Textor has sold his Eagles shares to Woody Johnson.

In any case, Palace are hard at work as they look to get ready to compete in Europe as well as the Premier League, and they are expected to recruit significantly before the dawn of the new season. Though, the Eagles must also manage the possibility of losing key players like Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze, who both appear likely to depart this summer for different reasons.

Palace are already expected to be shopping for replacements for both players to make sure the departure of either - or indeed both - doesn’t cost them dearly. One potential option to replace Eze could be Manchester City star James McAtee, who has been linked with a move to Selhurst Park, and if the Eagles want to sign him, now is the time to move.

According to Fabrizio Romano, City have now rejected a bid from Forest for the attacking midfielder. Romano posted on X: “Manchester City have rejected £25m official bid from Nottingham Forest for James McAtee.” City are reportedly asking for £35million to sell McAtee, who is expected to depart this summer amid a lack of regular game time.

Now is the time to strike for Palace as they search for someone who can replace Eze efficiently, and it would be a good idea to sign a player who has proven he can produce in the Premier League. The Eagles were also linked with a move for Dan N’Doye, but interestingly, he has been snapped up by Forest, and that signing could see Forest step away from a McAtee deal, especially with Morgan Gibbs-White staying put.

Guardiola on McAtee

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said of McAtee last season: “We haven’t seen it [from James] this season because I didn’t allow him to play minutes. I cannot ask anything from these types of players when they do not play a lot of minutes. They could do better? No. In the Spurs game, maybe the first games he played in the Carabao Cup he played really good.

“Macca has this quality, he could’ve scored four goals [against Palace]. He has the ability to create chances, he is there. Of course that game we were better than Crystal Palace and you play better and the chances come for themselves. We scored five goals and we had four more clear chances. This season, I remember 2-0 against Leicester and we had two shots on target. That was not the team of the past eight or nine years. It’s a team that if the other side scores one or two, we create eight, nine chances. This season, this team scores one or two goals but we didn’t create much. Macca lives close to the box, quite similar to Phil and they are there. They have a sense [of goal], it’s difficult to train in the moment the ball is coming and after he didn’t score but it’s fine. As much minutes he plays he will score.”

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