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AC Milan head into deadline day still unsure if they are going to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta, despite a deal being agreed with Crystal Palace.
On Sunday, The Athletic among other sources confirmed that Milan have agreed a deal worth ‘in excess of €30m’ to sign Mateta from Crystal Palace, with his medical getting underway in the evening ahead of a deadline day switch.
However, it emerged later in the night that the club want to do further checks on the striker’s knees, and an answer is expected this morning. At the time of writing, everything remains up in the air.
Recent precedents
Milan being thorough in their due diligence is nothing new, it must be said. As Pietro Mazzara points out, this is a practice we’ve already seen this summer with both Marc Pubill and Victor Boniface.
The former was expected to join from Almeria to become a new right-back for Milan, but a medical done in Barcelona advised the club not to proceed. Boniface meanwhile actually landed in Italy and looked all set to sign, yet he too had further tests which showed knee issues.
The reason behind it is quite simple: Milan’s top brass want to maje sure they’re writing a €35m check for a healthy player who can contribute immediately and isn’t at risk of any long-term issues further down the line.
On December 18, several English newspapers reported that Crystal Palace hoped their striker wouldn’t need knee surgery to fix repeated meniscus inflammation. Understandably, Milan want to verify this for themselves, having sent doctors.
The results will come soon and it will be clear if Milan will sign Mateta before the deadline, wait until the summer or abandon the operation and focus on a new target. The two clubs have agreed on everything, and Palace have replaced him already with Jorgen Strand Larsen, who passed his medical.
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