Forest make approach for Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta as French forward has told Palace he wants to leave.
A £35 million offer has been made by Nottingham Forest to acquire Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace. The France striker is one of Forest’s goals as they try to bolster their attack; he has informed Palace that he wants to depart.
Last Monday, Forest signed Lorenzo Lucca, a 6′ 7″ forward, on loan from Napoli with the option to extend the contract. This season, only Wolves (15) have scored fewer goals in the top division than Forest (23).
Despite having less than 18 months left on his contract, Palace is reportedly looking for a package worth up to £40 million and are unwilling to transfer Mateta without finding a replacement. Juventus and Aston Villa have expressed interest in him this month, and he has stated that he wants to play for a Champions League team.
Despite being three points below Palace in 15th place in the Premier League, Forest, who play Palace on Sunday, are thought to be prepared to meet Mateta’s salary demands. After Forest replaced Palace in the Europa League due to Palace’s violation of Uefa’s multi-club ownership regulations, there is hostility between the two teams.
Jørgen Strand Larsen, a striker for Wolves with admirers at Palace and Leeds, is still a target for Forest. Olympiakos resident Mehdi Taremi has also been connected to Forest. This transfer window, which ends on Monday, has rejected Leeds’ proposal for Strand Larsen.
Although Villa is working to re-sign their former loanee Tammy Abraham, who flew to England for a medical over the weekend, they were also interested in Mateta. Abraham signed a contract with Besiktas to purchase the striker from Roma when he joined the Turkish team on loan last summer, but Besiktas is about to sell Abraham to Villa.