Eberechi Eze was released by Arsenal as a teenager but continued his development through trials and youth spells at Fulham, Reading and Millwall before joining Queens Park Rangers and later Crystal Palace. He established himself as a creative playmaker, earning England recognition and scoring Palace's FA Cup final winner against Manchester City. Arsenal, the club he supported, pursued a transfer reportedly worth £60m and appears set to sign him, having outmaneuvered Tottenham Hotspur. Eze credits resilience and faith for his recovery from early rejection and recalls how Academy release initially affected his identity as a young player.
It is a scenario familiar to thousands of aspiring footballers around the world. Eberechi Eze, aged 13 and with tears in his eyes, was told he was not wanted by the club he dreamed of playing for - in his case, Arsenal. For many of those young players, that rejection is the end of their football dream. Not, however, for the resilient Eze.
Eze was at Arsenal, the club he supported, for four years from the age of nine. "Arsenal was everything," he said. "Just to play there, to go in with the Arsenal badge and be the kid who plays for Arsenal, was special. "Afterwards it became difficult. As a kid your identity is almost wrapped up in that. When you don't have it..."
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