Mateta Informs Palace of Desire to Depart Amid Interest from Villa and Juventus

Jean-Philippe Mateta has expressed his intention to leave Crystal Palace in January, following interest from Aston Villa and Juventus. The striker has been seeking a departure since last summer when several clubs attempted to sign him, but he did not agree to a new contract with Palace. Juventus and Aston Villa have explored the possibility of signing him this month, although Juve's proposed initial loan fee of £1.7m was deemed unacceptable. Palace executive chairman Steve Parish is known for being a tough negotiator and has consistently been reluctant to let players leave at a low cost. Palace currently values Mateta at around £35m, despite his contract expiring in the summer of 2027 and his upcoming 29th birthday in June. The club is not actively seeking to sell Mateta, and as of now, an exit is not imminent. Palace aims to strengthen its squad this month, with the goal of winning the Conference League and achieving a high finish in the Premier League. However, they have already sold captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City for £20m and head coach Oliver Glasner has confirmed his departure at the end of the season. Villa is intensifying its efforts to sign Tammy Abraham, currently on loan at Besiktas from Roma, but also remains interested in Mateta. Juventus has not entirely abandoned its pursuit of Mateta but is also working on a deal for Fenerbahce's Youssef En-Nesyri as an alternative. Manchester United had previously shown interest in Mateta, driven by former head coach Ruben Amorim's desire for a striker with Premier League experience. However, with no current expectation of United pursuing a striker in this window, their priority has shifted to signing a midfielder in the summer. Mateta's goal is to play for a Champions League club or a team with a strong chance of competing in the Champions League next season. He also hopes to represent France in the upcoming World Cup after being called up for the first time in October and scoring his first goal against Iceland. Palace rejected bids for Mateta from Champions League clubs in the summer and received a late inquiry from Tottenham before signing Randal Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. Italian clubs Atalanta, AC Milan, and Juventus, along with several Premier League teams, were also interested in Mateta during the summer, but a transfer did not materialize. Palace initially signed Mateta on loan from Mainz in January 2021, in a deal worth approximately £15m. Since then, he has established himself as one of the top strikers in the Premier League, with only Erling Haaland scoring more Premier League goals than Mateta in 2025. Under Glasner's management, Mateta has scored 35 league goals, surpassed only by Haaland and Mohamed Salah. However, in the past two and a half months, he has scored only once from open play. Mateta has scored 56 goals in 185 appearances for Palace, contributing to the club's FA Cup and Community Shield victories in 2025. He has started all 22 league games this season, scoring eight goals, and has two more goals and two assists in 10 cup appearances. Last season, he netted 17 goals in 47 matches as Palace won the FA Cup to qualify for European football for the first time. The 28-year-old has three caps and two goals for France. According to Sky Sports' David Richardson, Crystal Palace is losing its key figures, including Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, and potentially Jean-Philippe Mateta, which could impact their European adventure. With little threat of relegation, Palace needs to enjoy their Conference League experience, as it may be some time before they return. The club has already invested some of the funds from the Eze and Guehi sales into signing Brennan Johnson from Tottenham and will need to spend further to mitigate the damage of their big-name losses.