Crystal Palace and England star, Eberechi Eze, planted his roots in the EFL with Queens Park Rangers and Wycombe Wanderers.
The offensive midfielder has received a lot of attention over the previous year due to his outstanding performances for the Eagles. Gareth Southgate called him up to represent England at the 2024 Euros.
Despite his and Palace’s disappointing start to the season, the 26-year-old remains on the radar of several of England’s top football clubs. Valued at almost £50 million, the London club will be grateful to QPR and Wycombe if they receive a big quantity of money for his services.
Eze’s Wycombe loan caught QPR’s eye
| Eberechi Eze – Wycombe Wanderers 2017/18 (Transfermarkt) | |||||
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Minutes played | ||
| 20 | 5 | 0 | 1376 | ||
The Greenwich native spent the first few years of his career hopping between local clubs. He attended the Arsenal, Fulham, Reading, and Millwall academies but was unable to secure a professional contract. Despite several setbacks, Eze successfully trialed for QPR in 2016, securing a place in the under-21 squad.
A year later, he piqued the interest of former R’s favourite Gareth Ainsworth, who was Wycombe’s manager. The promising prospect has joined the Chairboys on a short-term loan until January 2018. The loan would be his first experience with senior, professional football.
It’s fair to say he took to it like a duck to water, swiftly becoming one of the first names on Ainsworth’s roster. Eze made 20 appearances for Adams Park and scored five goals. Many Wycombe supporters will remember his two identical curling strikes against Cambridge United, which are widely regarded as the moment the future England star proclaimed himself to the world.
Unfortunately for the Blues, Eze’s performance on loan had caught the notice of his parent club, who were anxious to have him back in their squad. His brief but fruitful stay at Wycombe provided the foundation of his future success.
Loan success was built on after Loftus Road return
The R’s appeared to have struck gold by signing the ex-Millwall teenager, assuming his time in South Buckinghamshire could be reproduced in West London. Fortunately, he did exactly that.
After acquiring some experience in League Two, Eze returned to QPR with confidence. Ian Holloway was eager to incorporate the rising talent into his first-team, and the Bristolian manager kept his word. Eze made 16 appearances for the Superhoops in the second half of the season.
After establishing himself as a regular starter for the R’s during the previous year and a half, the 2019-20 season was the one that drew attention from Premier League clubs. In the Championship, the then-22-year-old scored 14 goals and assisted eight times. This earned him a spot in the PFA EFL Championship Team of the Year for the 2019-20 season.
This clearly drew the attention of Premier League clubs. A young, attacking-minded English player might be worth a lot of money if he continues to improve, therefore clubs were eager to make the investment.
That summer, Crystal Palace paid a reported £19.5 million for QPR’s best asset, thereby ending his time at Loftus Road.
Palace must be grateful to QPR and Wycombe
Eze’s meteoric rise is a wonderful success story that many aspiring young footballers will see and think, ‘That could be me.’ The Greenwich native serves as a reminder to never give up on your aspirations, no matter what obstacles you face.
Only five years after being discharged by Millwall at the end of his scholarship, Eze was about to earn his shot at the highest level of English football. This is all down to QPR giving him a trial when he was a teenager, and he eventually won himself a contract.
The loan at Wycombe allowed Eze the opportunity to adjust to senior football in a positive environment. With some true professionals at the club, such as Adebayo Akinfenwa, Adams Park was the ideal setting for the loanee to display his talent to his parent club, which he did.
Former Palace manager Holloway’s faith in his young talent would have helped Eze keep the confidence he found at Wycombe. This ultimately contributed to his remarkable development, before the football world grabbed attention in 2019-20.
Palace should be extremely thankful to both QPR and Wycombe Wanderers for correctly nurturing Eze’s skills and providing him all the tools he needed to become the excellent player he is today. Whether he continues to dominate at Selhurst Park or seeks a new challenge with one of the big boys, the Eagles can appreciate his past clubs for the talent they helped develop.
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