With the mercato just closing, and Jean-Philippe Mateta not joining AC Milan, Oli and Anthony looked at a few others who could've stayed or joined. The mercato is a strange time, isn't it. Ultimately, it is a very volatile period for football clubs, and we saw this again with Mateta's failed move to Italy, which we have recently written a feature about. However, his move is not the only like it. There are several 'What If' moments from the past few years
Jean-Philippe Mateta appears to be unhappy with the fact that Crystal Palace are not allowing him to join AC Milan yet. This morning's edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport spoke of a race against time for Milan in terms of getting the Mateta deal done. He will either arrive before the 20:00 CET deadline tomorrow or in the summer, but the chances of the former are decreasing with Palace looking for a replacement.
"We need every single player at their best and JP [Mateta] isn't at his best right now with all the noise that happens. "It can be football noise, but if someone has private issues where they can't focus on football, then it makes no sense to play. "He can't help the team and perform at his top level. We decided it is better not to play him."
Crystal Palace are set to table a formal offer for Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen. Sources have told BBC Sport that Palace's interest in the 25-year-old forward has intensified in the past 24 hours with a bid now expected from the Selhurst Park club. Wolves are open to selling the Norway international this month provided they get a fee close to the 55m they rejected from Newcastle for the striker during the summer transfer window.
According to The Athletic, Nottingham Forest have stepped up their efforts to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta. Aiming to get ahead of the competition for the signature of the France international, they've officially offered £35million for Crystal Palace to relinquish the services of their striker.
With Jean-Philippe Mateta having already told Crystal Palace that he wants to leave and the club listening to offers for the France forward, this feels like a move waiting to happen. The 28-year-old only has 18 months left on his present deal despite signing a contract extension with the Eagles just over 12 months ago. Italian giants Juventus and Premier League Aston Villa are believed to be leading the chase for Mateta, who Palace value at around 40m.
France forward Jean-Philippe Mateta has told Crystal Palace he wants to leave the club, sources confirmed to ESPN. The 28-year-old still has 18 months left on his current deal at Selhurst Park. - Premier League January transfers: All confirmed ins, outs for every club While Juventus have expressed interested in the former Mainz player, they failed to meet Palace's asking price of around £40 million ($54m), sources said. Aston Villa are among a number of other clubs interested.
