While talk of Federico Chiesa potentially returning to Turin during the winter transfer window dominated the first or second week of January, Juventus’ efforts to bring in a new striker have been in the spotlight over the past few days, only amplified by the Bianconeri’s struggles to score in their defeat to Cagliari at the weekend.
The main target is a name you are already familiar with by now: Jean-Philippe Mateta.
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So as Juventus push to bring Matata to Turin, it certainly sounds like the player himself is pushing for an exit.
According to Alfredo Pedula of Sport Italia, Mateta is very likely to leave Crystal Palace this month and Juventus will be his preferred destination if this plan comes to fruition. When you consider everything that’s going on at Palace right now – keystone players leaving, a manager on the verge of collapse due to the club’s current situation, and past star players leaving in recent transfer windows – it’s easy to see why Mateta would want to start a new adventure rather than continue with the current situation. Juventus are looking to capitalize on this but have so far been stymied by Crystal Palace, with their first offer for Mateta – a six-month loan with an obligation to buy subject to European qualification – being rejected, a relatively unsurprising development.
But the fact remains that, according to Pedula, Mateta wants to leave – which could be exploited by Juventus, although he is still playing for Crystal Palace despite exit rumors.
It also means Juventus will have to raise their offer for Mateta, with Crystal Palace reportedly hoping for more than €40 million if he leaves during the winter transfer window. The loan fee of 2 million euros proposed by Juventus and the purchase obligation of approximately 28 million euros clearly fall far short of this hope. But when Matata’s actual willingness to stay is compared to his desire to leave, how much will that push him towards the exit?
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Juventus clearly want a different forward profile than the two fit strikers they currently have in Jonathan David and Luis Openda. Juve boss Luciano Spalletti has reportedly given the green light for Mateta’s move, with him being their first choice, and the fact that they will soon offer him another potential deal is further evidence of this.
Who knows when this month will actually be complete, but closing down Mattetta appears to be Juventus’ top priority heading into the second half of January.
