A deal is in place for AC Milan to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace.
The striker, who is set to be left out of the squad for Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest, wants a move to Milan, but this is currently on hold as Palace try to sign a replacement.
Mateta is awaiting medical clearance from Palace to fly from London to Italy to sign for Milan. He posted an angry emoji on his Instagram Stories on Saturday night.
Sky Sports News understands that the final decision on whether a deal can be finalized rests with Palace.
Palace are still aiming to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves despite a setback in negotiations on Thursday. Add-ons to a potential £50m deal are a sticking point.
Milan have offered Mateta a three-and-a-half-year contract worth an annual after-tax salary of £3m. He believes signing with the Italian giants will improve his chances of playing for France at the World Cup.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner said on Friday that Mateta would not play against Forest, who had also made an offer for the Frenchman, because his head was not in the right position to play.
“It has nothing to do with the transfer, he just doesn’t feel like he’s in the right place and he doesn’t feel like he’s in the right place to play,” Glasner said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Forest, live on Super Sunday.
“We have to protect the team and protect him. He is not going to Nottingham with us.”
Asked for details about Mateta’s absence this weekend, Glasner said: “Again, there’s so much noise, so much speculation, so much going on.
“We need all our players to be at their best and he is not at his best because of all the turmoil going on at the moment.
“Maybe it’s the noise from football, but if someone has personal issues and can’t concentrate on football, there’s no point in playing.
Jean-Philippe Mateta celebrates after giving Crystal Palace the lead against Fulham
“He cannot help the team and perform at the top level. We decided that it is better not to play him. We have to be prepared in case something happens to[Mateta].”
Glasner also said Mateta could remain at the club after the January transfer window closes on Monday.
He added: “Again, to be clear, he could stay and be a Palace player on February 2nd, or he could leave the club and a new striker could come in.”
“These are two situations we are currently discussing.”
Who will Palace sign to replace Mateta?
Evan Guesand joins Crystal Palace from Aston Villa
Palace hope to sign Mateta’s replacement before he leaves the club. They have completed their first loan deal with Guesand from Aston Villa and are continuing contract negotiations with Strand Larsen from Wolves.
Guesand’s contract includes a £28 million buyout obligation that will be triggered if he makes a certain number of appearances. Juventus showed interest, but it was too late to make any impact.
The Ivory Coast international has agreed a four-year contract at Selhurst Park, which should become permanent. He traveled to London on Thursday to finalize his transfer and completed his medical on Friday.
Strand Larsen’s contract with Palace was verbally agreed on Thursday for a potential £50m (£45m + £5m), but had hit a snag on Thursday night after a disagreement over additional features.
Leeds are also interested in Strand-Larsen after their initial bid was rejected, but they are unlikely to spend more than £40m to sign him.
Mr. Glasner: The palace is currently in a difficult situation.
Glasner went on to admit that balancing fixtures and the transfer window will not be easy, but insisted the club is working hard to prepare for all possibilities before the end of Deadline Day on Monday.
Palace already lost captain Marc Guehi in a £20m deal with Manchester City on January 19th.
“Honestly, it’s like this all year round, especially in the summer. It’s not the easiest way for the group or for everyone to deal with this at this point,” Glasner said.
“The club is working almost around the clock at the moment. Marc (Guehi) left two weeks ago and no one has come in.
“As you can imagine it’s not that easy. It’s not as easy as signing players at the end of January because every team wants to have a successful season. I can see that clubs are working hard to sign players.”
“There’s so much noise, so many players coming and going on deadline day and the day before, there’s so much noise all around us. Yes, it’s really challenging.”
“It’s been tough for the players and I can’t praise them enough. We’ve seen how hard they’ve worked all week and how they’ve handled the situation.
“We’re traveling tomorrow with 13 on-field players and Cayden Rodney from the academy. Nobody’s complaining. We’ll be able to win with this squad in Nottingham. It’s a difficult situation.”
Sunday, February 1st 1:55pm
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