As Ebere Eze's return from a ruptured Achilles nears, Brian Matovu has a look at how the playmaker's journey so far has helped with his speedy recovery.
As Ebere Eze draws ever so nearer to a return to first-team action, we embark on seeing the most wonderful smile in football. However, the wait is nearly over and following a challenging 6 months on the sidelines, the Palace faithful will be buoyant about his return. Even more so, as he has never played in front of fans at Selhurst Park. His scintillating performances in his debut season for the Eagles has transformed him into a massive fans’ favourite. This is also down to his laid-back and unassuming personality. What stands out the most, is his endearing smile on and off the pitch, alluding to his love for a sport he very nearly fell out of. An absolute pleasure to watch. Ebere Eze kicking a ball in his red and blue stripes under the effervescent atmosphere of Selhurst Park will be a pleasant sight for Palace fans. One of the most anticipated returns in Palace’s history awaits.
Background
Ebere Eze’s journey into football is by no means a straightforward one and his footballing story can galvanise young aspiring footballers who feel despondent about pursuing a career in football. As this article will show, Eze has endured a number setbacks and disappointments along the way.
Eze grew up in the Greenwich area of south London. From the age of just 8, he was picked up by Arsenal old but was released at 13. He then embarked on spells at Fulham and Reading. At 16, he signed a two-year scholarship at Millwall. However, when the scholarship ended, Eze failed to get a professional contract at Millwall and was duly released. The Millwall manager at the time, Neil Harris, said that he wasn’t a “Millwall type of player”. Although clubs recognised his raw talent, none were ever convinced enough to take a gamble and offer him a platform to hone his craft.
Eze suffered from the “Mesut Ozil syndrome”, seen as a luxury player with immense talent but unfairly criticised for a lack of work rate. Eze concedes that he isn’t someone to chase down every single lost cause but rather make timed interventions. However, as a laid-back character, academy coaches may interpret that as a lack of urgency, hunger and drive.
After a number of unsuccessful trials, Eze had a big decision to make as he reached the pivotal age of 18. At that age, many across the country are faced with the conundrum of deciding whether to enrol for university, sign up for an apprenticeship or enter full-time employment. In several exclusive interviews, Eze mentions that he was very close to pursuing another career avenue as professional football appeared to be unlikely. However, he was given another opportunity at QPR on a professional contract. This is testament to his persistence, determination and diligence. A career in professional football requires a lot of self-belief, mental strength and resilience. Eze’s journey strongly epitomises this and merits admiration and praise.
The Breakthrough
Initially signing for the elite development squad, Eze started like a house on fire, bagging 9 goals in 14 starts for the team. Soon after, Ian Holloway who briefly knew Eze from his Millwall days handed him his debut in a 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at Loftus Road. Unfortunately, Eze was taken off with an injury after 18 minutes but nonetheless, it was a fantastic step in the right direction.
However, Eze really began to make a name for himself during the 2017/18 season while he was on loan at Wycombe Wanderers. In just 22 appearances, he left a very positive impression with his performances and scored 5 goals in the process. Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth had high praise for Eze, stating that he played a huge part in their promotion that season giving them the spark they needed. Ainsworth concluded very quickly that a 19-year-old Eze had everything in his locker to be a “top, top player”.
When Eze returned to west London, he began to play regularly for QPR going from strength to strength. His versatility in playing a number of positions in the midfield meant that he was rarely out of the team and his unwavering potential was starting to shine through. Under the stewardship of Steve McLaren, he was given the iconic number 10 shirt worn by top players before him such as Adel Taarabt and his sublime creativity and unique ability to menacingly dribble past his opponents put him in good stead to become one of the Championship’s best players.
QPR manager Mark Warburton, who coached Eze in his final season before moving to Palace said “He can glide with the ball and run past people effortlessly and impact the game.” The 2019/20 season is where Eze drew national attention, he took his performances to a whole new level registering 14 goals and 8 assists, including fantastic individual solo goals against Stoke and West Brom. He was QPR’s highest league goalscorer from midfield alongside tallying the second-highest assists, just one behind Bright Osayi-Samuel. Following Eze’s outstanding season, with one year left on his QPR contract, Premier League sides began to closely monitor his situation with a number of clubs chasing his signature. West Ham showed initial interest first and Moyes expressed a desire to sign him but due to lack of funds and the need to sell before buying, but the move didn’t materialise. It was Crystal Palace who succeeded in acquiring the services of the young starlet and Eze headed south of the capital.
The move to EZE25
On 28th August 2020, Eze signed for Crystal Palace for a fee of around £16m which could rise to £20m in add-ons on a five-year contract. Given his impressive goal scoring numbers the season before, this was a signing Palace desperately needed as they were the second-lowest goal scoring team in the Premier League.
Eze scored his first goal for Palace with a sublime free-kick in a 4-1 win over Leeds at Selhurst Park. Although Eze’s talent was very evident, there were some games where he would struggle to have the impact that he did in his final days at QPR. Nonetheless, it’s important to acknowledge that this was his first season in the Premier League and he was playing on the left of a rigid 4-4-2 system under Roy Hodgson. Although this formation didn't get the best out of Eze’s attacking prowess, it did encourage him to develop a defensive discipline required under Roy Hodgson. However there were occasions where Eze did showcase glimpses of his remarkable dribbling ability. For example, his individual solo goals against Sheffield United and the left foot strike against Wolves highlights his proficiency in attacking situations and how lethal he can be against the opposition when carrying the ball in the final third. When executing his special ball-carrying technique, he is well and truly a defender’s nightmare. Even in his unfavoured position, he still ended up as Palace’s 3rd highest scorer behind Zaha and Benteke, while leading the team in assists in just his first season.
Heartbreak
With just two weeks left of the 2020-21 season, Eze ruptured his Achilles in training just a day before Palace were scheduled to face Arsenal. This would have been an opportunity for him to play in front of Palace fans for the first time, as Covid restrictions allowed up to 6,500 fans. More importantly, the news was even more heartbreaking for Eze because he was in contention to be called up to the 33-man England provisional squad for the Euros on the same day he sustained the injury. Former team-mate Andros Townsend, now at Everton, revealed that Palace players were in tears when they heard the news as it was such a massive blow.
Impending Return
Palace now has a natural number 10 who can create chances at will in open play and via the set-piece route. The addition of another Championship starlet, Michael Olise, means Palace now have a dual-threat on both sides through Zaha and Olise with Eze complimenting them in the middle. Eze will be looking to add to an impressive array of talents at Selhurst Park which include England U21 teammates Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi who have added youth exuberance to what was the oldest squad in the Premier League last season.
However, Eze’s rehabilitation has gone much quicker than expected, usually, Achilles injuries can take up to 9 months but Eze is scheduled to return within the next two weeks meaning that he would have been out for just under seven months. In that time, a lot has changed at Palace. Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira is in the hot seat and given his exceptional playing career and expansive style of play, Palace fans are excited at how much Eze can thrive under the 1998 World Cup winner.
An impressive return could give Eze a second chance at making the England squad in the lead up to the 2022 Qatar World Cup which he will have his sights set upon, but Eze who has been through setbacks in life and as a man of faith, sure knows how to approach this next battle as he nears his return. One thing that is guaranteed for sure is that he will receive the loudest cheer when he officially gets that jersey on as Palace’s new number 10.