'Securing Mateta to a longer deal would be ideal for everyone'

Jean Philippe-Mateta has been a player reborn for Crystal Palace this season.

The striker has been in the best form for the club since he signed on an 18-month loan deal from Mainz 05 in January 2021. The deal was then made permanent a year later.

The 26-year-old is having his best goal scoring season too, with 10 goals in all competitions including seven in the league. Before this return he hadn’t scored more than five times in the league in his three previous campaigns.

What is most impressive about his goal contributions this season is that his seven goals and four assists have come in just 18 league starts.

Since new manager Oliver Glasner has come in, Mateta has flourished with four goals in the Austrian’s first six games in charge.

Training sessions under Glasner are intense and it forces players to work at a new level and some have mentioned how the new style of play is taking some getting used to.

Mateta has prospered with the Eagles players asked to get the ball forward quicker to try to hurt the opposition.

It’s understood that contract talks with Mateta are planned before the end of the campaign. In the summer he will be entering the last two years of his current deal and clubs such as Stuttgart, Betis, and Sevilla have shown an interest in the Frenchman.

It’s likely to be a busy summer at Selhurst Park with players such as Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze expected to be of interest to clubs higher up the table.

Eze was pursued by Manchester City last summer, so being able to secure Mateta to a longer deal now that he has really started to look at home would be ideal for everyone at Selhurst Park. Things look to have clicked for the forward.