Eze, who has a £68 million release clause in his deal, has also attracted interest from Manchester United and Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta’s side adding the 26-year-old to their transfer shortlist in recent days.

Should a transfer be completed this window, Arteta could put him straight into a new-look front three with one of Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres up front. Saka remains on the right. That gives Eze a target to hit and someone to play off, just as he would with Kai Havertz.