Jean-Philippe Mateta will be reintegrated into Crystal Palace’s squad after the France striker’s deadline-day move to Milan collapsed but he faces competition for his place from new club record signing Jørgen Strand Larsen.
The Norway striker’s move from Wolves was confirmed just before Monday’s 7pm deadline for an initial £43m plus £5m in bonuses, with Palace having already broken their transfer record this month in signing Brennan Johnson from Tottenham for £35m. But having been at the centre of a dramatic deadline day in the summer when chair Steve Parish pulled the plug on Marc Guéhi’s proposed move to Liverpool, it was another chaotic 24 hours in south London as Mateta attempted to seal his move to Milan.
That fell through after a second medical examination by the Italian club revealed concerns over a knee injury that has been carefully managed by Palace this season and they do not believe it requires surgery. Mateta, who was left out of Palace’s game against Nottingham Forest on Sunday after manager Oliver Glasner said he was “not at his best” due to uncertainty about his future, will now be expected to compete with Strand Larsen for a starting spot. But he faces a challenge to win back supporters who booed him off after his last appearance against Chelsea two weeks ago.
Palace failed in a late bid to complete a surprise move for Everton’s Dwight McNeil after submitting a deal sheet just before the deadline, on a loan with an obligation to buy for £20m. Their hopes of bringing in a replacement for Guéhi, who joined Manchester City in January, were also scuppered. Chelsea rejected a loan offer for Josh Acheampong, while Palace didn’t follow up interest in West Ham’s Max Kilman and Ruben Kluivert of Lyon. But the arrival of Strand Larsen, who has scored only once in the Premier League this season but almost joined Newcastle in the summer, takes Palace’s spending this month to more than £90m.
After Palace’s draw against Forest made it 12 games without a win in all competitions, Glasner – who has already announced he will leave in the summer – again criticised the club’s hierarchy for their approach to transfer windows.
“I would prefer not always talking the day before the deadline,” he said. “I think we have to make a step backwards. Maybe two, three more players coming in then we have five or six new players all of a sudden. It feels like two years ago having to teach them how we want to play, how we want to attack. You can see too many misunderstandings right now.”
