“I want to enjoy my football where I am right now, Whether that leads me to another club, or to whatever, I’m at peace with that”- Eberechi Eze ‘at peace’ with Crystal Palace situation as he speaks out on Selhurst Park future

Eberechi Eze remained at Crystal Palace this season, with Eagles chief Steve Parish admitting he was ‘astounded’ by the lack of interest – but the midfielder is focused on impressing at Selhurst Park

It was a summer saga that left his Crystal Palace chairman “astounded” – but Eberechi Eze isn’t one to look back with regrets.

After tasting international tournament football for the first time, where he played three times as England agonisingly missed out on Euro 2024 glory in Germany, Eze was one of the hottest tickets in town.

The midfielder saw team-mates Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen leave Selhurst Park for a combined £70million in the summer – and the club rejected a bid worth £65m from Newcastle for defender Marc Guehi.

However, offers from the Premier League’s big guns for Eze didn’t materialise, with Eagles supremo Steve Parish admitting this month that the club “didn’t have the interest that I thought we would have. I was astounded.”

But the Londoner, 26, isn’t worried too much about what happens in the future, nor does he let the praise from Parish get to his head. Instead, he wants to concentrate on helping winless Palace climb up the table after a tricky start to the campaign.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s must-win clash with Everton, he said: “I appreciate the words that they say. But I’m so focused on just being the best player I can be, whatever interest comes, or whatever happens.

“I want to enjoy my football where I am right now. The things that I can control, that’s it. I’m really, really invested in becoming the best player I can be. Whether that leads me to another club, or to whatever, I’m at peace with that – and I try to stay there (at peace) as well.”

So, has his role altered after a summer of change in south London? He added: “Maybe I have a bit more responsibility on the pitch, but it’s not much different to what I was doing last season. The way I carry myself, the way I play, the way I speak, the way I communicate, that’s just how I play football.

“Losing Michael and Joachim, they were big players and important players last season but we’ve done well to get players who can fill their spots. The type of player I am, I want to affect games and I do everything I can to win.”