Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish confirms Eberechi Eze exit after UEFA Conference League play-off win - 'The King is dead, long live the King'
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Updated 22/08/2025 at 08:31 GMT+1
Despite winning 1-0 at home in the club's first European match since 1998, a lot of the post-match talk at Selhurst Park concerned Eberechi Eze's impending departure from Crystal Palace. Both chairman Steve Parish and Oliver Glasner confirmed the England international's upcoming exit, with the latter particularly frustrated by Palace's lack of business in the summer transfer window.
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Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish and manager Oliver Glasner both confirmed that Eberechi Eze will leave the club, after the south London side recorded a 1-0 win over Fredrikstad.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the only goal of the game to hand Palace the advantage heading into the second leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off tie.
But star attacker Eze will not travel with The Eagles to southern Norway and it is expected that he will undergo a medical with Arsenal in the coming days.
After the England international was left out of Palace's squad to face the Eliteserien side, Glasner confirmed that Eze had requested to forgo the match on Thursday morning.
"Honestly, I expected he would start today for us," Glasner told Channel 5. "But he called me this morning and said he doesn't feel well to play in the evening. And of course, I have to accept it and everything else you have to ask the chairman."
And after the match, chairman Parish answered questions on the future of the 27-year-old, who was also subject to interest from Arsenal's north London rivals Tottenham.
"We have to move past it," said Parish. "He has been fantastic for the club and we all love him for what he's done and what he's achieved, and we are pleased he will go on to fulfil the other ambitions that he's got."
Glasner echoed Parish's announcement, and stressed that it was important to bring in new players to bolster a squad that could be competing on four fronts this season.
"Ebs will not play for us any more, so it does not make sense to talk about him. It's gone. It looks like wishing him all the best for the new club and, for us, it is about bringing more players in, but they will not be allowed to play in the second leg."
On the subject of fresh reinforcements, Parish admitted that the Palace squad was too thin, with left-back Borna Sosa and goalkeeper Walter Benitez the only incoming signings at Selhurst Park this summer.
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"It's the King is dead, long live the King, right? We have to find other players to support the team and Oliver Glasner. We will bring in players. It is about finding the right players," said Parish.
"I don't think Oliver wants too many, I think it is the right number. It is about getting the balance right. We are a bit thin anyway. We are working on what we are working on and will look to get the quality we can.
"We are very lucky with Oliver because he is very involved, he is a very data-driven manager. He is very specific about what he wants."
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But for Glasner, new signings cannot come soon enough, with the Palace boss evidently frustrated by the club's lack of business in his post-match press conference.
"For us now, it's very, very late. It's 10 days to go to find the right replacements, so again, I think we could have done much better than we already did," said Glasner.
"It's no criticism, it's just telling facts. This group of players is really working so hard every single game. Today we had 17 on-field players available. One [is] from the academy, two players we already told that they should leave the club, so that means we have 14.
"Having six games from August 10 until 31 and this group, I know we can rely on them; I trust them completely. But it's really, let's say, not the best way you should start the season."
Crystal Palace will play Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon, before travelling to Fredrikstad for their second leg on Thursday, August 28.
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