Aston Villa will have to pay big to sign Crystal Palace star

Aston Villa would reportedly have to pay big to seal the transfer of Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze this summer.

Villa have been linked as one of the clubs in for Eze in this upcoming transfer window, as per the Birmingham Mail, who add that the England international will not come cheap.

Although it’s not made explicitly clear in the report, the implication is that Palace will demand Eze’s release clause in full, meaning he’d cost Villa and other interested clubs £68m.

Eagles fans will no doubt hope this means clubs are put off trying to sign Eze, who is a fine player, but clearly not the cheapest option on the market.

How much is Eberechi Eze really worth?

It’s not easy to judge a player’s true market value, but Transfermarkt estimate him to currently be worth €55m (46.8m), though he’s previously been at a high of €60m (£51m).

The 26-year-old contributed 15 goals and 11 assists in all competitions for club and country in the season just gone,

If Eze was a year or two younger then £68m would probably look like a bargain, in all honesty, but it’s hard to know precisely when a player will hit their peak.

If Eze continues playing as well as he has been for the next four years, most clubs would probably see £68m as a decent investment, but he’d still have next to no re-sale value.

Can Aston Villa afford Eze?

Villa have done some smart work in the transfer market in recent times, but this looks like it might be too much for them.

We’ve seen the Midlands outfit having to sell in order to buy in the last few years, so it might be that funding this deal would just be too costly in terms of the players they’d have to let go.

If Palace are willing to negotiate, however, then the situation could change, but there seems little reason for the south Londoners to do that with such an important player, unless he makes life difficult for them by pushing to leave.

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