Arsenal Lead £68m Eze Race as Palace Mull £30m Upfront Bid

Arsenal target Ebere Eze. (Image: Getty Images)

Ebere Eze continues to partake in pre-season for Crystal Palace after playing in their hour-long practice match against Mainz on Tuesday .

Four days after the player's first outing of the summer, on Friday night, the playmaker featured alongside Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta in Austria. Eze missed their opening game earlier this month against his former club, Millwall , after being given additional time off after playing for England in June.

'Discussions ongoing'

Arsenal are reportedly ready to offer Crystal Palace just £30million up front and a further £38million - his release clause being £68million - in instalments over the next two years. Caught Offside claims progress is happening on reaching an agreement, with ongoing discussions over that payment structure.

They cite sources close to the agent industry when saying that the Gunners are leading the race. Arsenal are also reputedly willing to wait for Palace to snap-up a replacement; they are among the clubs credited with an interest in Leicester City player Bilal El Khannouss.

Meanwhile, Manchester City and Manchester United have purportedly contacted the player's representatives. Liverpool are also said to be in the race as Luis Diaz nears a move to Bayern Munich . The reigning Bundesliga champions are also reportedly considering a move to reunite Eze with Michael Olise . Chelsea , inevitably, are also said to be keeping tabs on the situation with Eze.

Nelson swap deal chance

Receiving funds for Nelson this year could boost their chances of affording Eze. However, including the playing as part of that deal could also help achieve that ultimate end goal.