Jean-Philippe Mateta could leave Crystal Palace before the transfer deadline amid growing interest from Nottingham Forest and AC Milan – and is not expected to play with the former this weekend
Jean-Philippe Mateta will not play for Crystal Palace against Nottingham Forest this weekend (Image: James Gill/Danehouse)
Jean-Philippe Mateta has been left out of Crystal Palace’s squad to face Nottingham Forest on Sunday as talks continue over his £30m sale to AC Milan.
The FA Cup holders are also in talks to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves. However, ahead of Sunday’s visit to the City Ground, manager Oliver Glasner said neither deal had been signed and while Mateta could stay, the French striker would not play on Sunday.
“I can confirm that JP will not be in the squad on match day,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the transfer. He is not in the right place to play. There is no point in playing him. I have to protect him and the team. That is why he will not go to Nottingham. The second thing I can confirm is that there will be no new players in the matchday squad.”
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“There’s so much noise, and there’s so much speculation, and there’s so much going on. And we need all our players to be at their best, but JP isn’t at his best right now because of all the noise that’s going on. That’s why we decided it’s better not to play him.”
When asked what’s changed this week, Glasner said: “We’re getting closer to the deadline. Things change and there’s a little bit more pressure on everyone as usual. We know what’s going to happen, but it’s going to be good for us because we know if JP stays he’ll be more motivated. He has big dreams and this is playing for France in the World Cup so he needs to perform better than he has played in the last few weeks. He needs to score goals and that’s what he knows and I will too. I know it’s difficult because I’m so ambitious, so hardworking, so committed.
Forest and AC Milan are both interested in signing Mateta (Image: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)
“But I’m sure that on February 2nd, the curtain will be closed. We all have the same goal of having a great end to the season at Palace, and of course there are personal goals for each player as well, and there are a lot of people on this court who want to play for their country in the World Cup. That’s why I still sleep well.”
The FA Cup holders are now winless in 11 games, have sold captain Marc Guehi to Manchester City and had England midfielder Adam Wharton suspended on Sunday. The south London club are currently just eight points from the drop zone and need reinforcements before next week’s window closes.
“The club is working almost around the clock at the moment because Marc left two weeks ago and since then there has been no one left,” added the Austrian.
“As you can imagine, it is not so easy to sign a player at the end of January, but you can see that the club is working hard to sign a player to replace Marc. “Of course we have to be prepared in case something happens to JP, so the club is working hard to sign a player to replace Marc. “We are working on it, but JP has not made a decision. Let me be really clear again: JP could stay and become a Crystal Palace player on February 2nd, which could mean JP leaves the club and a new striker comes in.”
“These are the things for me and these are the two situations that we are talking about and are currently discussing.”
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