Crystal Palace will leave Basel disappointed after completing the signing of Premier League loanee Jean-Philippe Mateta from Mainz 05, as reported by BlueWin.
It’s been a frustrating final few days of the transfer window for Patrick Vieira and co.
Aaron Ramsey sealed a shock move to Rangers – talk about a bolt from the blue – while Donny Van de Beek opted for Everton after spending the weekend locked in talks with the Selhurst Park club.
Reports from the Evening Standard claiming that Crystal Palace have agreed a reduced £8 million fee with Bundesliga high-flyers Mainz for the in-form Mateta should, at least, lift some of the gloom.
Mateta looked to be on his way out a few weeks ago.
But a sudden re-emergence, aided by a couple of well-taken goals against Norwich City and Millwall, have seen the former France U21 international go from forgotten man to regular starter in the blink of an eye.
Can Jean-Philippe Matata establish himself at Crystal Palace?
Cabral, by the way, joined Fiorentina last week as a replacement for Fiorentina’s very own talismanic, free-scoring number nine; Dusan Vlahovic.
But David Degen, Basel’s owner, did not sound particularly optimistic when asked about the prospect of Mateta continuing his career in Switzerland.
“Crystal Palace will probably buy him from Mainz,” Degen sighs. “That makes it harder.
“We have very high requirements (in our striker search). The question is whether there is a short-term solution until the summer or something long term. Many parameters have to be right.”
Degen adds that Basel want to sign two strikers before the Swiss transfer window closes on February 15th.
The 20-time Swiss champions will snap up Russia international Fedor Chalov. They have also been linked with Celtic’s Albian Ajeti, not to mention Rangers’ Cedric Itten.
As far as Palace are concerned, it remains to be seen whether they step up their interest in Daniil Fomin after missing out on Van de Beek and Ramsey.
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