EBERECHI EZE is now expected to START for Crystal Palace at Chelsea despite Tottenham pushing for a deal.
Spurs are keen to land the Palace midfielder for £55million and there were doubts on Saturday over whether he would be available for Palace at Stamford Bridge as an agreement looked close.
There were considerations over leaving the England man out of Oliver Glasner’s squad for the opening game of the season.
But with no deal fully agreed with Tottenham, Eze is now expected to be in the starting XI for the London derby.
The 27-year-old has two years remaining on his deal at Crystal Palace and wants to turn out for Palace while he is still their player.
Arsenal have also expressed interest in a deal for Eze, though their interest appears to have cooled in recent weeks and no firm bid has been made.
Tottenham are looking to sign both Eze and Manchester City winger Savinho.
Savinho was left out of Manchester City’s squad at Wolves on Saturday, with the club valuing him at £67m.
Marc Guehi is also expected to captain the Eagles, with Liverpool having expressed interest in the defender.
The Premier League champions remain short of Palace’s valuation on Guehi, who has a year left on his deal and is prepared to stay another year and run it down.
Asked about both ahead of today’s game, Glasner said: “Marc has trained the entire week with us, every single training session, the same with Ebs.
“They’ve prepared the best way for the Chelsea game on Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve been in the football business for too long, so I know that at any time of any day, things can happen.
“If you ask me now, I expect both Marc and Ebs to start on Sunday.”
Read the full article here