Jean-Philippe Mateta transfer news: Crystal Palace striker tells club he wants to leave amid Aston Villa, Juventus interest
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta has informed club of his desire to leave this January; frontman is contracted to Palace until summer 2027 but has interest from Aston Villa and Juventus; France international has scored 56 goals in 185 appearances for Palace
Jean-Philippe Mateta has told Crystal Palace he wants to leave the club this January, amid interest from Aston Villa and Juventus.
Crystal Palace are not actively trying to sell Mateta, who has 18 months left on his contract, and it would require a significant offer for Palace to be tempted to sell the player. As things stand, an exit is not close.
Palace want to strengthen their squad this month. They want to try and win the Conference League and finish as high as possible in the Premier League. They have already sold captain Marc Guehi to Man City for £20m in this window and head coach Oliver Glasner has confirmed he will leave in the summer when his contract runs out.
Villa are stepping up their efforts to sign striker Tammy Abraham, who is currently on loan at Besiktas from Roma, but are also interested in Mateta.
Juventus have not completely given up hope of signing Mateta but are also working on a deal for Fenerbahce’s Youssef En Nesyri as an alternative.
Mateta has scored 56 goals in 185 appearances for Palace, helping the club to FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs at Wembley in 2025.
Mateta has started all 22 of Palace’s league games this season, scoring eight goals, plus hitting two more and providing two assists in 10 appearances in cup competitions.
Last season, he netted 17 goals in 47 matches as Palace won the FA Cup having scored 19 times in 39 appearances the year before
The 28-year-old has three caps and two goals for France following his first call-up in October and has ambitions of featuring in their World Cup squad this summer.
Explained: Why Mateta wants to leave
“Mateta has 18 months left on his contract and just because he wants to leave Crystal Palace, it doesn’t mean they are going to sell him. There is no way whatsoever they will let him leave on the cheap.
“Talks were held last summer about him extending his contract. Those talks did not end with an agreement. We’ve known for a long time that he may leave Palace, but only at the right price.
“But what is significant today is that he’s let it be known that he does actually want to leave. Before today, behind the scenes, we were all aware that he was looking for a move elsewhere. But today is the first time that he’s been happy for it to be out there in public.
“So, what has changed? The transfer window is only open until February 2. He has been in the France squad. He wants to play for a club in the Champions League or a club that is going to be in the Champions League next season. He knows that clubs like Juventus and Aston Villa are interested in signing him.
“But Crystal Palace will not let him leave on the cheap. So a club like Juventus, thinking that they can offer a £2m loan fee to get their leading striker, are totally wasting their time.
“It probably needs to be a £35-40m fee. I know last summer that clubs were interested in signing him. He was on the shortlist of Newcastle.
“Tottenham made a very, very late bid to try and sign him before they signed Randal Kolo Muani on loan. I believe the figure that Tottenham were quoted was around £40m.
“I think a lot of clubs will look at that and say it is too much for a player who is going to be 29 in June. He is not going to have that much resale value.”
Where do Palace go from here?
First it was Eberechi Eze, then it was Marc Guehi, now it’s Oliver Glasner and soon it could be Jean-Philippe Mateta – Crystal Palace are losing their spine.
Just months after winning the FA Cup and Community Shield at Wembley, their key figures from those glory days have headed, or are heading, for the exit.
Palace’s first major season in Europe is being overshadowed by what’s happening off the pitch. Supporters were always going to savour their Conference League adventure – they need to enjoy it even more as it could be some time before they return.
There is little threat of relegation right now, sitting 11 points above the bottom three, albeit winless in their last seven games and 10 in all competitions.
But if there is any hope for Palace’s future, then Brentford have shown how they can lose key players and their head coach yet still improve.
Palace have 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 help limit the damage of their big-name losses.
Palace’s next six fixtures
Sunday: Chelsea (H) – live on Sky Sports
February 1: Nottingham Forest (A) – live on Sky Sports
February 8: Brighton (A) – live on Sky Sports
February 11: Burnley (H)
February 19: Zrinjski Mostar (A)
February 21: Wolves (H)
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