Eberechi Eze

Eberechi Oluchi Eze (born 29 June 1998; pronounced ) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Premier League club Crystal Palace and the England national team.

Eze was born in Greenwich, Greater London to Ìgbo Nigerian parents.

Growing up, he reflected on his life, saying: "There are the nice parts [of Greenwich] and the not so nice parts. I grew up in a not so nice part. It wasn’t the easiest life and you don’t have as much as other kids around you. The first place we’d go after school is to the cage. We’d stay there till our parents called us in, not eating, playing all day and night. There wasn’t really anything else to do. But that’s where the love comes from. [At the time], you don’t realise it’s actually how you’re learning your trade."

Growing up, his footballing idol was Ronaldinho.

Eze then met Bright Osayi-Samuel, his teammate during his time at Queens Park Rangers, at secondary school and played football together at the same district team.

Eze started his football career at Arsenal before being released when he was thirteen and then went on to join Fulham and Reading.

Eze then appeared as a youth player at Millwall, where he signed a two–year scholarship with the club.

Eze quickly progressed both the U18 side and the reserve side.

It was announced in April 2016 that Eze would be leaving Millwall at the end of the 2015–16 season after not being offered a professional contract.

Following his release, he continued studying in college before trialling successfully with Championship club Queens Park Rangers (QPR), impressing the club's technical director Chris Ramsey.

Eze completed his signing for Queens Park Rangers on 3 August 2016.

This was his only appearance of the 2016–17 season for the side.

On 7 January 2017, Eze made his first-team debut in an FA Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers, featuring for 18 minutes before being injured and replaced by Yeni Ngbakoto.

The game resulted in a 2–1 home defeat for QPR.

On 30 August 2017, Eze joined League Two club Wycombe Wanderers on loan until January 2018.

He made his Wycombe Wanderers debut, coming on as a 79th minute substitute, in a 0–0 draw against Newport County on 9 September 2017.

After making his debut for the club, Eze quickly became a first team regular for the side, where he rotated in different midfield positions.

Eze scored his first ever senior goal on 7 October 2017, netting a brace for Wycombe against Cambridge United.

His goal against Cambridge United earned him a nomination for the League Two Goal of the Month award for October.

He made a total of 20 appearances and played a part in Wycombe gaining promotion that season.

Eze scored a further four times in total for Wycombe, putting in some eye-catching performances before returning to QPR in January.

After returning to QPR, Eze featured regularly for Ian Holloway's side, who planned on using him in the first team.

His first appearance of the 2017–18 season came on 6 January 2018 against Milton Keynes Dons in the third round of the FA Cup, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss.

At the end of the 2017–18 season, he went on to make 16 appearances, with his first goal for the club came on 10 March 2018 against Sunderland, the only goal of the match.

Ahead of the 2018–19 season, Holloway left Queens Park Rangers as the previous season was concluded and his replacement, Steve McClaren handed Eze the number 10 shirt for the club.

A week later, he signed a new three-year contract with QPR, binding him to the club until June 2021.

Eze started the season well when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Sheffield United on 11 August 2018.

Eze then scored two consecutive goals between 15 September 2018 and 19 September 2018 against Bolton Wanderers and his former club, Millwall.

Since the start of the 2018–19 season, he continued to be a first team regular for the side, continuing to play in different midfield positions.

His performance was praised by McClaren, who said: "Eze has great talent but he did great work off the ball in terms of helping the team defend. We're asking him to do that and it's important that he does that in terms of his development."

Eze then set up two goals in two matches between 20 October 2018 and 23 October 2018 against Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday.

A month later on 24 November 2018 against Stoke City, he set up two goals for Àngel Rangel, in a 2–2 draw.

However towards the end of the 2018–19 season, Eze soon found himself placed at the substitute bench.

He played 46 games in the 2018–19 season, scoring four times in all competitions.

He then signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2019.

Eze's fourth goal then came on 1 January 2019, in a 2–2 draw against Aston Villa.

In the opening game of the 2019–20 season, Eze scored his first goal of the season, "sauntered through a static Stoke City defence to double Queen Park Rangers' lead after the interval", to win 2–1.

Three weeks later on 24 August 2019, he scored his second goal of the season, as well as setting up the club's third goal of the game, in a 3–1 win against Wigan Athletic.

Two weeks later on 11 September 2019, Eze scored his third goal of the season, as well as setting up Queen Park Rangers' third goal of the game, in a 3–2 win against Luton Town.

After the match, he was named Team of the Week by the EFL and WhoScored.com.