Les Ferdinand should maybe be expecting a phone call from his old employers in the build-up to this summer’s transfer window.
Because with Newcastle United identifying Ebere Eze as one of their top targets, according to The Sun, who better to ask than a man who watched the London-born schemer blossom at Queens Park Rangers as the Magpies put together a dossier for one of the brightest young talents in the Premier League?
“When I see some of the things he does on a football pitch and how comfortable he is with a football, I put him up there as one of the best I have seen,” Ferdinand, Newcastle legend and QPR’s director of football, told the Beautiful Game podcast before selling Eze to Crystal Palace two years ago.
“I think if you look at his ability, I see him playing for one of the top six sides (in the Premier League),” Ferdinand adds to Football London.
“I see him playing for England. He’s certainly got the ability to do that.
“He’ll go all the way.”
Will Eberechi Eze leave Crystal Palace for Newcastle United?
If not for an Achilles rupture which impeded Eze’s ability to build upon an outstanding debut season at Selhurst Park, Ferdinand might havae already seen one of his predictions come true.
According to The Guardian, Eze was to be included in Gareth Southgate’s preliminary squad for last summer’s European Championships. Before the injury curse struck, that is.
Now back on the pitch and desperate to make up for lost time after six months on the sidelines, it remains to be seen whether Eze can rediscover the form of his 2020/21 campaign.
One suspects Patrick Vieira’s possession-based approach will suit him down to the ground.
According to reports, Newcastle will make a club-record bid of £45 million in the summer. They failed with a loan-to-buy offer during the January window.
Now, Crystal Palace would be loathe to use arguably their most naturally talented footballer. Especially to a Premier League rival.
But money talks. And Newcastle have more than most these days.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
