Manchester City considering move for Eze with De Bruyne future uncertain

Manchester City are weighing up an approach for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze amid growing uncertainty over the future of Kevin De Bruyne.

De Bruyne has one year on his contract and is wanted by the Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad. He admitted last month that he could be tempted to leave City because of the “incredi­ble money” on offer in the Saudi Pro League but reports over the weekend that he has agreed a contract with the team who recently appointed ­Laurent Blanc as manager are understood to be wide of the mark.

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City, though, are believed to be preparing for the 33-year-old’s potential departure and see Eze, who made three substitute appearances for England at Euro 2024, as a possible replacement. Pep Guardiola is understood to rate the 26-year-old highly and City came close to bidding for Eze last summer before signing Matheus Nunes – the Portugal international who has been used sparingly – from Wolves for about £50m.

Palace are determined to hang on to their star attacker after selling Michael Olise to Bayern Munich. The contract Eze signed last November has three years to run and is believed to contain a release clause with a ­minimum fee of £60m, although the cost could be up to £70m with add‑ons included.

Eze has also attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham this summer but it remains to be seen whether they can afford such a hefty fee given the restrictions on ­spending imposed by the Premier League’s ­profitability and ­sustainability rules. Arsenal are closing in on the signing of ­Riccardo Calafiori after ­agreeing to pay €40m (£33.6m) plus €5m in bonuses to Bologna for the Italy defender. The 22-year-old should complete his move once ­the Serie A side agree terms over a 50% sell‑on fee to the Swiss club Basel.

Palace have an interest in ­signing Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe but face competition from Fulham for the forward. Palace have had an offer for their longstanding target Ismaïla Sarr rejected by Marseille, where the Sene­gal forward has failed to settle after leaving Watford last year. Southamp­ton are reported to have made a £12m bid for ­Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, although ­Palace are believed to prefer to loan out the 21-year-old forward.