Released at thirteen by Arsenal, Eberechi Eze returned for 67.5 million pounds
Arsenal let Eberechi Eze go when he was thirteen. Fulham, Reading and Millwall passed on him too, and at 17 he was back in college with no professional contract. Nine years later his goal won Crystal Palace their first major trophy, and his boyhood club paid 67.5 million pounds to bring him home.
Eze was born in Greenwich in 1998 to Igbo Nigerian parents from Mbaise in Imo State. He grew up in what he called a not so nice part of the borough, spending evenings in the local caged pitch until his parents called him in, which he later saw as where he learned his trade. He started at six with a Plumstead side called All Stars before joining Arsenal's academy.
After Millwall declined to offer him a deal in 2016, a successful trial persuaded Queens Park Rangers technical director Chris Ramsey to sign him. A loan to Wycombe in League Two brought his first senior goals, a pair against Cambridge United, and helped them to promotion. Back at QPR he wore the number 10 under Steve McClaren and blossomed in 2019-20, scoring 14 goals in 48 games and winning the supporters' player of the year award.
Crystal Palace bought him in August 2020 for a reported 17 million pounds, having seen an earlier 12 million bid turned down. An Achilles tendon injury in training in May 2021 cost him months, but he recovered to top-score for the club in 2022-23 after Roy Hodgson returned. In April 2024 his goal beat Liverpool at Anfield, their first home defeat in 28 matches, and he became the club's fourth-highest Premier League scorer behind Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke and Luka Milivojevic.
His lone strike decided the 2025 FA Cup final, the first major honour in Palace's history, and he added the Community Shield before moving to Arsenal. In his first season there he won the Premier League and reached the 2026 Champions League final. Internationally he debuted in 2023 and was part of England squads that finished second at Euro 2024 and third at the 2026 World Cup.
Source: Eberechi Eze
