Premier League misfit Jean-Philippe Mateta is keen to leave Crystal Palace for St Etienne but the Ligue 1 strugglers cannot afford his £40,000-a-week wages, as reported by FootMercato.
Mateta has no future at Selhurst Park.
Hardly a ground-breaking claim, considering that the former France U21 international has played just four minutes of Premier League football since Crystal Palace lured Odsonne Edouard away from Celtic during the summer transfer window.
But finding a new, loving home ahead of the January is proving to be easier said than done.
Parent club Mainz ruled out an early return to the Bundesliga on Monday, sporting director Christian Heidel claiming that an agreement to cancel the final few months of Mateta’s Selhurst Park loan was nothing short of ‘impossible’.
And while Mateta is open to the idea of crossing the Channel and joining a St Etienne side crying out for a hero, Les Verts supporters will not be holding their breath.
What next for Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta?
According to FootMercato, the 24-year-old centre-forward – who previously represented the club’s Rhone rivals Lyon – has held talks with newly-appointed St Etienne manager Pascal Dupraz.
The problem, however, boils down to money. Doesn’t it always.
St Etienne cannot afford to take over his £40,000-a-week wages. It is believed they can only pay him £12,000-a-week.
The chances of Mateta returning to France and firing St Etienne away of the relegation zone, then, look slim.
There is a clause in the striker’s contract stating that Palace must turn his short-term deal into a £15 million permanent transfer once Mateta makes his 15th Premier League start for the club.
11 months after arriving at Selhurst Park, however, his tally of top-flight starts stands at a measly three.
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