Crystal Palace are set to announce the loan signing of Mainz man Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The Eagles have landed the French forward on an 18-month loan deal from the Bundesliga club with an obligation to buy.
That fee is believed to be in the region of £13m, and it comes as no real surprise considering loan deals of that length almost always signal a permanent move.
Roy Hodgson is in need of some more firepower in attack and the 23-year-old may provide much needed competition to the misfiring Christian Benteke up top.
Benteke is out of contract in the summer and will likely leave Selhurst Park, whilst fellow striker Michy Batshuayi is on loan from Chelsea and hasn’t had much game time.
Jordan Ayew is also an option going forward but with just one goal so far this season, his form has dipped.
There appears to be a movement at Crystal Palace to bring in younger talent – in the 2019/20 campaign, the Eagles had the highest average age of any Premier League squad.
Recent additions including Ebere Eze and Nathan Ferguson highlight that – with Mateta another who could make a name for himself at Crystal Palace.
This move has yet to be confirmed by either club, but it has been reported by ever-reliable transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, which is good enough for us!
