Arsenal have dramatically hijacked Tottenham's deal to sign Eberechi Eze. The 27-year-old had been set to join Spurs from Crystal Palace after the two clubs agreed on a fee in the region of £60million this week.

Having been previously linked with the Gunners, their interest was perceived to have ended due to other developments. Mikel Arteta has already brought Noni Madueke in from Chelsea this summer, while teenager Ethan Nwaneri has signed a new five-year deal. However, news of the injury to Kai Havertz has prompted Arsenal to swoop for Eze.

Spurs had agreed the conditions of a deal with Palace today. However, Palace were not prepared to conclude negotiations until the the 27-year-old had featured in Thursday's Conference League play-off match with Fredrikstad.

Arsenal have now reportedly signalled their intentions to meet the same conditions and is Eze is said to favour a move to the Emirates. The England international was a boyhood Arsenal fan, and represented the club at academy level.

The overall package for the transfer is set to be worth over £60m. Arsenal's sporting director Andrea Berta has been credited with leading the pursuit after Havertz was ruled out long-term with a knee issue.

Tottenham are now preparing to pursue alternative targets. There has been little headway in their attempts to strike a deal with Manchester City over Savinho, but the club have been linked with Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche.

However, the development still comes as a hammer blow to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy after he held progressive talks with Steve Parish this week. It's the second time this summer a seemingly inevitable deal has fallen through at the 11th hour, having previously missed out on Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.

Thomas Frank is still seeking midfield reinforcements following James Maddison's ACL injury. Eze was perceived as the ideal replacement, with the potential of a move to Arsenal seemingly blocked by their signing of Noni Madueke.