Jamie O’Hara slams Tottenham Hotspur for missing out on the signing of Eberechi Eze to arch-rivals Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur had agreed everything with Crystal Palace to sign Eberechi Eze, but Arsenal had other ideas.
Following the departure of Son Heung-min and serious knee injury to James Maddison, the Lilywhites were looking to add creativity to the team and they had identified Eberechi Eze as their primary target after missing out on Morgan Gibbs-White. The 27-year-old looked close to signing for Spurs, and Thomas Frank was perhaps mapping out plans to use him this season.
However, to everyone’s surprise, even the most ardent Arsenal fans, the Gunners came out of nowhere and hijacked the Eze deal in the 11th hour on Wednesday evening in the wake of Kai Havertz’s serious-looking injury. The Crystal Palace talisman is poised to complete a move to the Emirates Stadium now after the Gunners agreed a deal in principle and quickly negotiated personal terms. The England international is due for his medical tests on Friday.
Former Spurs midfielder loses his head after Arsenal hijack Eze deal
Arsenal hijacking Tottenham’s deal for Eze has seen the White Hart Lane faithful go into complete meltdown on social media.
After the news broke out, it had also left former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara absolutely fuming as he discussed it with Jason Cundy on talkSPORT. Going on a rant, he slaughtered club chairman Daniel Levy for messing up this deal, describing Tottenham as “penny-pinchers” that it took them so long to conclude everything.
“I’m disappointed in Tottenham, I’m disappointed. we should have had this deal done weeks ago, we should have had it over the line and got it done,” Jamie O’Hara said on talkSPORT.
“As soon as we started the season, we should have had Eze in the team, and do you know what, it serves us right. It serves Daniel Levy right, it serves Spurs right, it’s the same old Tottenham, it happens every single season, we’re penny-pinchers!
“It happened again, and we’re going to miss out on a top-quality player who’s proven in the Premier League. Just pay the money and get the player over the line! We got rid of [Heung-min] Son, [James] Maddison has done his ACL, we needed Eze, we needed him.
“It’s an absolute joke that we’re going to lose him to Arsenal of all teams, who are going to waltz in and pay and get it over the line in a couple of hours, it’s a joke.”
Daniel Levy deserves to receive scathing attack from the fans
Levy is already an unpopular figure within the Spurs fanbase, but Wednesday’s development will intensify the criticism of the Tottenham chairman.
After Maddison’s ACL rupture, Tottenham’s need for a creative midfielder had only accentuated. Yet, Levy dillydallied with the Eze deal having identified him as a top target earlier in the transfer window. Premier League proven, creative, elusive and at the peak of his powers, the Greenwich-born talent would have no doubt been a marquee signing for Thomas Frank’s side.
Tottenham’s delay in getting a deal for Eze over the line allowed our bitter rivals to swoop in and lure the player to the Emirates Stadium, and a big part of it comes down to Levy’s sluggish negotiations with Palace chairman Steve Parish. Therefore, O’Hara and millions of fans are bound to be angry and frustrated with Levy for letting another important deal slip from his fingers.
