Crystal Palace will have to double their bid for Jean-Philippe Mateta after Mainz rejected an opening offer of £14 million from the Premier League outfit, according to the Guardian.
Money doesn’t grow on trees at Selhurst Park.
While Roy Hodgson has made it clear that signing a new number nine is a must for a club who scored just 31 times in 38 games last season, doing so will be easier said than done.
Mateta missed much of 2019/20 with a serious knee injury and, despite finding the net a grand total of three times, Mainz are refusing to let the rangy Frenchman move to England for a penny less than £27 million.
Crystal Palace have had a bid of £14 million dismissed out of hand.
In an era of unprecedented financial uncertainty, it feels distinctly unlikely that they would be willing to smash their transfer record for a man who was stuck on the treatment table from December until June.
BILD report that sporting director Dougie Freedman travelled to Germany in order to hold talks with Mainz earlier this week.
It remains to be seen, however, whether Palace now decide to back out of the deal and turn their attention to alternative, affordable options.
Mateta, who rose to fame with a glut of goals at Le Havre, did score 14 times during his debut Bundesliga season back in 2018/19 before injuries wrecked his second year at the Opel Arena.
The Sun (26 August, page 50) reports that, while Mateta may be out of Palace’s reach, Eberechi Eze is expected to arrive at Selhurst Park sooner rather than later.
A £14 million bid is understood to be enough to land the QPR talisman.
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