Tottenham still face Eberechi Eze wait even though transfer agreement is now 'close'

Tottenham and Crystal Palace have still not yet reached an agreement over a transfer fee for Eberechi Eze, who is now likely to feature in the Eagles' opening Europa Conference League fixture on Thursday.

Spurs and Palace have been in talks over a dealfor Eze, 27, this week with the former stepping up their efforts to land the attacking midfielder after discovering that the injured James Maddison is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines. However, the two clubs have so far been unable to agree on a payment structure for a proposed £60million deal.

Talks are expected to continue over the coming days with Ezekeen on the idea of moving across London. But with no agreement in place, the former QPR man is now poised to start in Palace's Europa Conference League play-off first leg against Fredrikstad on Thursday.

Oliver Glasner, Crystal Palace's head coach, confirmed as much on Wednesday when he revealed that Eze and Marc Guehi - a target for Liverpool - remain committed to the cause despite interest from elsewhere.

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"Most of you will be surprised that they will start again tomorrow because of all the rumours," Glasner said in a press conference. "But they are committed here and they will play a crucial part."

While Eze is likely to be on the pitch for the start of Crystal Palace's maiden European campaign, it seems likely that the club and Tottenham will reach an agreement for his transfer before September 1. Encouragingly for Tottenham, though, Palace have made progress in their pursuit of a player who could help fill the sizeable void Eze would leave.

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Bilal El Khannouss of Leicester is one of the targets Palace have identified amid interest in Eze and Sky Sports claim that the FA Cup winners are now 'close' to agreeing a deal worth £32million for the attacking midfielder.

El Khannouss, 21, is among a number of options Palace are weighing up during the final two weeks of the transfer window. They also hold an interest in Christos Tzolis of Club Brugge, though it now seems that a deal for El Khannouss is more advanced.

The Morocco star contributed two goals and three assists in 32 Premier League appearances for Leicester last season as they were relegated from the top-flight.

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