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Jean-Philippe Mateta’s name has been on AC Milan’s radar for some time, and now, the idea is growing once again.
When Massimiliano Allegri first arrived, he asked for an elite striker. Someone physical who was comfortable in the box and could facilitate others. However, that player did not arrive; instead, Christopher Nkunku did.
The Frenchman may have some similar traits, but he is not the physical mould of striker that was requested.
Instead, a different Premier League representative of Les Bleus would have been more fitting. Of course, that would be Mateta, who was briefly linked during the summer, but a move was not made.
Renewed chance
Now, the idea of him joining the Rossoneri has taken off, thanks to reports that he wants to move to Italy. He has just over a year left on his deal, meaning he could be available for a lesser cost in the summer, with Palace struggling to make progress on a renewal.
Fabrizio Romano spoke on his Italian YouTube channel alongside Matteo Moretto and he addressed the rumours linking Milan with a move for Mateta.
“One name we should possibly keep an eye on in the future is Matetà, Crystal Palace’s centre-forward, because in recent days very reliable sources in England have been talking about this idea, about this desire on Matetà’s part to probably try a different experience,” he said.
“Matetà, who has had a very unique career, could have come to Italy sooner. Torino wanted him a few years ago, but then they didn’t find the right fit, he was an idea for several teams, but Matetà has had a career that reminds us a bit of Luca Toni.
“He’s a striker who exploded very late, who only started playing for the national team a few months ago, already scoring for France. He’s a guy who has shown he never gives up, with impressive physical quality, with lots of goals, and he has this desire to try an experience in Italy.
“I can confirm that Matetà has a bit of this craze for trying a different experience to Crystal Palace where he’s doing very well, but the idea of trying something in Italy, in short, he’s always attempted throughout his career and continues to be a passion.
“I repeat, in the past he was a step away from Torino, I’m talking about quite a few years ago, not this year. This year, Matte [Moretto], we were talking here on the channel in the summer that Matetà was one of the names being considered by AC Milan as well.
Matteo Moretto: “Yes, because he was one of the names we discussed exclusively here on the channel this summer. Milan, like other clubs, like all other clubs, clearly has a list of forwards of profiles they view, follow, contact.
“This summer, in addition to [Tolu] Arokodare and others that Milan certainly contacted and evaluated, there was also the name of Matetà. Well, then the situation, especially from an economic point of view hasn’t progressed because Crystal Palace were asking for and continues to ask for significant sums.
“But, his contract expires in 2027, if I’m not mistaken, so in short, the player isn’t close to a renewal right now, on the contrary. So Milan, in my opinion, in our opinion, from what we understand, are just waiting to see what the development of the situation might be.
“Especially with a club like Palace, you have to understand. You were talking about financial demands. In the summer they sold Eze, they raised money in a significant way, they didn’t need to sell Matetà. We’ll see later from the point of view of view of the financial demands.
“It’s never easy to negotiate with Palace for anyone, eh. Liverpool realised that: Mark Guehi nearly arrived in the last hours of the transfer window and they missed out on the deal on the gong. So it will depend a lot on Palace’s demands to understand Matetà’s future in general.”
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