Manchester United have entered the race for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta to address their goalscoring woes, according to reports.
The towering Frenchman bagged a brace at Old Trafford on Sunday as the Eagles cruised to a 2-0 win over a toothless United side which started the match with no recognised centre forward.
The defeat laid bare Ruben Amorim’s problems up front, with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee starting on the bench and contributing little when substituted on.
Now, TBR Football claim that United have joined a long list of clubs in monitoring the 27-year-old amid uncertainty over both his future at Palace and the fortunes of the Red Devils’ forward line.
United are set to go head-to-head with Chelsea and Newcastle United, while West Ham, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are also said to be keen on the player.
The report adds that there is also considerable interest overseas, naming Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Marseille as teams “paying close attention” to the situation.
After a slow start to life in the Premier League, following a £9 million move from Mainz three years ago, Mateta has been in sparkling form under manager Oliver Glasner, scoring 26 goals in 41 games since the Austrian took over from Roy Hodgson last year.
It’s little wonder that the Olympic silver medallist is being linked with a move away from Selhurst Park, and United could do a lot worse than turn to the Premier League-proven striker in their pursuit of regular goals.
TBR Football relayed that while Palace recently triggered a contract extension to keep Mateta with them until June 2027, it is the same deal he originally signed in 2022.
Since then, and particularly this season, his stock has rocketed and the report stated that the south Londoners “are still trying to convince the talismanic figure to sign a proper new deal.”
Speaking about the player previously, French legend Thierry Henry had said, “He’s an old-fashioned striker, you can play a little more direct. He can keep the ball.
“He’s a boring striker to play against, he doesn’t lose the ball much, and he goes at the last defender. He uses his physicality, he’s good with his head, and he scores.”
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
