Jean-Philippe Mateta Demands Crystal Palace Exit, Juventus Leading Chase

Juventus are confident Mateta, who has entered the final 18 months of his deal and has turned down previous contract extensions, wants to join them, but the clubs are far apart in their valuation of the player. The Italian side offered a £1.7million loan fee to secure Mateta for the rest of the season, plus an additional £24million to make the deal permanent if they qualify for European competition. Palace rejected the offer — they value Mateta at £35million. Juventus need attacking reinforcements because Dusan Vlahovic is injured and out of contract this summer. They are fifth in Serie A and struggling in the Champions League first phase. Mateta took time to settle at Palace after joining from Mainz in 2021 but began to impress after Glasner took charge in February 2024. He was called up by France for the first time in October last year, making his debut against Azerbaijan in a World Cup qualifier. He scored his first goal for his country in a 2–2 draw against Iceland a few days later and added another against Azerbaijan the following month.