Eberechi Eze made his Premier League debut in the 2020-21 season and has gone on to make 146 appearances in the competition for Crystal Palace.
The England international started his career in the Arsenal academy, before being released at 13 years old. He went on to play for Fulham, Reading and Millwall at academy level.
After not being offered a professional contract at Millwall, Eze signed for Queens Park Rangers in 2016. He made his first-team debut on 7th January 2017.
Eze made the move from QPR to Crystal Palace after four years in the Championship, joining the Eagles for a fee of around £17million.
But how has Eze evolved at the south London club over the last five seasons?
Chance creation
Eze had a brilliant campaign on paper in 2024-25, scoring eight goals and providing eight assists in the Premier League in 2024-25. But many of his underlying metrics have taken a hit.
Eze averaged 2.4 chances created per 90 minutes , 4.7 crosses attempted, 1.6 crosses completed and 0.4 through balls in the 2023-24 season. Those are the highest he has managed in each metric since joining Palace.
all dropped in the 2024-25 season, with only through balls staying at 0.4 per 90 and assists going up from 0.2 to 0.3 per 90.
Another interesting metric to look at is Eze’s forward passes per 90. These have been falling since his debut season at Palace back in 20-21.
In the 2020-21 season, Eze averaged 11.1 forward passes, which has fallen dramatically over the past two seasons. He averaged 8.3 in 2023-24 and 8.1 last season.
Much of this can be attributed to the England international growing in maturity. He still looks to take risks and create chances, but perhaps with more insight on when to do so.
Goal threat
With regards to Eze’s goal threat, the 27-year-old scored 11 goals in the 23-24 Premier League. That’s the highest goal tally he has managed since joining Palace.
The underlying numbers support this. Eze averagied 2.4 shots per 90, 61.82% shot accuracy and 1.5 shots on target during 2023-24, the highest he has managed in all of those metrics at Palace.
Eze’s shot volume has increased massively since first arriving at the club, going from 1.00 shot per 90 in his debut campaign, to between 2.2-2.4 per 90 across the last two seasons.
However, this has also seen the 27-year-old’s conversation rate take a hit. He recorded a 13.11% conversation rate last season, his worst since joining Palace.
As Eze has become the main man at Palace, the reliance on him for not only creation, but shot volume and output has increased. This can explain certain rises and decreases in shooting and finishing metrics.
Dribbling
While the 2023-24 season has largely ranked as Eze’s best season for underlying metrics so far, some of his dribbling numbers are interesting for that campaign.
Once again, Eze recorded some personal bests in these metrics during 2023-24. He averaged 3.1 take-ons completed per 90 and 5.00 touches in the opposition penalty area per 90.
However, he also averaged his most touches per 90 with 62.9, which saw his involvement and opportunity increase.
This saw his most take-ons overrun (0.4 per 90), his most possessions lost (17.7 per 90) and his most times tackled (4.9 per 90).
Eze excels with his carrying qualities, being brave and looking to beat his man in both wide and central areas, using his body well to protect the ball and buying fouls when needed.
What next?
Eze’s profile is one that is hugely in demand this summer in the Premier League. Managers are looking to add hybrid wing/midfielder profiles in order to increase their tactical versatility.
The England international fits the bill, having the ability to play both on the left and through the middle, adding creative firepower, carrying qualities and ball striking.
Arsenal are one club being heavily linked with the 27-year-old, after already signing Noni Madueke from Chelsea. Mikel Arteta looks to be keen to add another dimension to the left side of his attack.
The mixture of traits Eze could bring to the squad would allow Arteta to make changes based on opposition and, most importantly, help offer new ways of breaking down low blocks, which has been an issue for some time now.
Over the next five years of Eze’s career, the main aim will be turning his top individual performances into trophies and accolades, much like his FA Cup triumph last season, scoring the winning goal at Wembley.