Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has said he was ‘genuinely astounded’ at the lack of summer transfer interest in Eberechi Eze.
Eze was at the centre of transfer speculation during the summer window after an excellent period at Selhurst Park, with the midfielder scoring 11 league goals in 2023/24 to earn inclusion in the England squad for Euro 2024.
The 26-year-old has started the new season in strong form with two goals in four games and Palace are delighted to have retained his services, following the exit of influential winger Michael Olise to Bayern Munich.
Parish said the Eagles were ‘really worried’ about losing both players in the same summer, though revealed that interest in Eze from rival clubs was less than expected.
He admits he was ‘genuinely astounded’ by the lack of concrete approaches for ‘an outstanding footballer’, despite repeated links to ‘Big Six’ sides.
“I was really worried from a club point of view of losing Michael and Ebbs in the same window and we didn’t have in Ebbs the interest that I thought we would have,” Parish told Sky Sports News.
“I was astounded. Genuinely astounded. I mean, the guy’s just an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person.”
Parish proud of transfer interest in Palace stars
Parish opened up on Palace’s decision to sell Olise and admits it is a source of pride for the club that their top talent is targeted by Europe’s elite sides.
“We’re proud of the fact that Michael Olise’s gone to Bayern Munich,” said Parish. “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. 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.”
