Mainz striker Jean Philippe Mateta has offered a hint as to why his summer move to Crystal Palace never happened, telling Kicker that none of the offers put to him were tempting enough.
How Roy Hodgson could have done with a goal-scorer like this as the Eagles drew a blank in frustrating defeats to Burnley and Newcastle United.
Christian Benteke and Michy Batshuayi are yet to open their personal accounts in 2020/21, but the same certainly cannot be said about Mateta.
The rangy Frenchman has recovered from an injury-wrecked 2019/20 to re-establish himself as one of the hottest strikers in the Bundesliga.
Mateta scored a brilliant hat-trick as Mainz won a league game at the eighth time of asking against Freiburg, taking his own tally to ten in ten games across all competitions.
The Sun (15 August, page 61) reported that Crystal Palace could have signed Mateta for a cool £15 million, but opted to bring Batshuayi back instead for another loan spell from London rivals Chelsea.
“It’s very simple,” Mateta said when asked why a summer move didn’t happen.
“I didn’t see myself in any of the clubs that wanted me. I said to myself; ‘the best thing to do is stay in Mainz, play a good season and then see what happens next summer’.”
If Mateta continues like this, averaging a goal a game so far, Mainz will have a huge task hanging onto their star man; even if they do pull clear of the Bundesliga relegation zone.
Calciomercato last week reported that the former Le Havre ace is a target for Napoli and Tottenham.
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