Oliver Glasner pays classy tribute to Eberechi Eze ahead of £67.5m Arsenal transfer

Oliver Glasner insists he will remember Eberechi Eze for clutch moments - not for phoning in sick before his Crystal Palace exit. Speaking on Thursday night, the Austrian revealed Eze, who underwent his Arsenal medical yesterday ahead of a £67.5million switch to the Emirates, called him to communicate that he was feeling unwell ahead of the 1-0 Conference League play-off win over Fredrikstad.

While the 27-year-old was later in attendance at Selhurst Park, he did not feature and therefore missed out on the chance to say goodbye, sneaking out of the back door. When asked if he was disappointed by the way things played out, Glasner said: "He's still our player but not for long, so I won't talk about it."

However, Glasner did also take the chance to praise his FA Cup-winning playmaker and insisted the England international's legacy will remain intact for his integral contribution towards the club's success.

The 50-year-old continued: "He struggled last year at the beginning of the season but going through this period helped him become a better footballer. I spoke very often about the crunch time, I'm a big NBA fan and in the crunchtime the superstars are always on the court.

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"When we needed Ebs in the crunch time, he was there. That's what I will always remember, with great players, when you need them they are always there. Great players never hide, we could count on Ebs in the very important games, this is what he gave to the team and to Crystal Palace."

Palace host Nottingham Forest on Sunday in a red-hot blockbuster following this summer's fiery and explosive UEFA row but Romain Esse - a £14.5m January acquisition from Millwall - isn't ready to replace Eze, according to Glasner.

The 20-year-old, who scored with his first touch on his Premier League debut against Brentford in January, was subbed on then off at Anfield on the final day of last season.

Glasner said when asked if Esse could fill the void following Eze's departure: "Not now, honestly not now. Then we don't need a signing but Romain played for six months at Millwall, he was good and we brought him in but now it's about making the next steps to be ready for Premier League football consistently. Not once or twice, we need a player who is consistently performing."

The Eagles boss also made it clear he feels recruiting a like-for-like successor for Eze is a near-on impossible task. Instead he wants to bring in a player that simply drives the team forward and improves the level of the squad, just like Ismaila Sarr.

He continued: "Again, I'm worrying about Crystal Palace, if I asked you when I arrived who are the most important players in Crystal Palace's attack you say Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise. Both are gone and then you need to replace them. Even at that time, I wouldn't be sitting here if the club had been successful, they were playing against relegation for two years in a row - even with these two top stars.

"If we don't do the right things now, I'm worried that it can go very quickly in the wrong direction. When I see what's happening around us, even more.

"Dean Henderson said it before the Frederikstad game we lost Michael and we couldn't replace him because he was too good. But with a different profile and slight change to the way we play - we can replace him and that's what Ismaila Sarr did. He's not Michael Olise but he helped us achieve the best season in Crystal Palace history."

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