Crystal Palace have confirmed the signing of Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah on a permanent deal.
The England international has joined the Eagles in a move that could reportedly fetch up to £30m, including a £25m upfront fee and another £5m in performance-related add-ons.
Nketiah has penned a five-year contract with Oliver Glasner's side until the summer of 2029, and he will wear the number nine shirt during his time at Selhurst Park.
"It's amazing to sign for Crystal Palace – I'm excited to get going. Every time I come back to South London, it always puts a smile on my face, so it's good to be back home," Nketiah told the official Palace website.
Nketiah follows Chadi Riad, Daichi Kamada, Maxence Lacroix and Ismaila Sarr to Palace as their fifth signing of the summer window, and chairman Steve Parish has backed the 25-year-old to quickly "endear" himself to the Selhurst Park faithful.
Original South London Material.
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Mikel Arteta breaks silence on Eddie Nketiah Arsenal exit
"It's brilliant to welcome Eddie, a senior England international, back to South London – we are delighted he has signed for Crystal Palace. I am confident that his energy, talent and hunger to succeed will endear him to his new teammates and supporters alike," Parish added.
A product of the Arsenal academy system, Nketiah signed for the Gunners in 2015 after leaving Chelsea's youth setup and went on to make 168 appearances for the first team, scoring 38 goals and setting up seven more.
Nketiah performed admirably during Gabriel Jesus's spells out through injury over the past couple of years, scoring his first Premier League hat-trick in a 5-0 demolition of Sheffield United back in October.
The 25-year-old broke into the England squad under Gareth Southgate thanks to his Arsenal displays last term, but he was demoted to third-choice striker behind Jesus and Kai Havertz after the latter found success in the number nine slot last term.
Nevertheless, his contributions in North London were lauded by both Mikel Arteta and Arsenal sporting director Edu, with the former telling the Arsenal website: "We are so grateful to Eddie for his performances with us.
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"He is a player who has developed well through our Academy and now he takes this opportunity with Crystal Palace. Eddie is a top professional, loved by everyone at the club, who wanted and needed to play more minutes. We wish Eddie well as he moves onto his next challenge."
Edu also echoed Arteta's sentiments about Nketiah needing as many minutes as possible at this stage of his career, adding: "Eddie has had a great journey from our Academy into our first team, and we send him our thanks and best wishes as he moves to Crystal Palace.
"It is important for Eddie to be playing regular first-team football and we are happy we have concluded a very positive transfer deal for his move. Eddie has a lot of friends here after many years at the club and we wish him good luck in his next step."
When can Nketiah make his Crystal Palace debut?
As Premier League rules stipulate that players must be registered by 12pm on deadline day to make their debuts this weekend, Nketiah will not be available for Palace's trip to his former club Chelsea on Sunday.
Instead, the ex-Arsenal man will have to wait until after the international break to feature in Palace colours for the first time, most likely when the Eagles host Leicester City on August 14.
Ben Knapton
