Palace ‘not dead’ in Strand Larsen chase as Mateta ‘agrees personal terms’ with Euro giants to crush Nott’m Forest | OneFootball

Crystal Palace cannot yet be discounted from the race to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves after Eagles striker Jean-Philippe Mateta took a giant step closer towards joining his dream club, while Leeds have also been warned by Wolves of the minimum price now needed to sign the Norwegian striker.

With Monday’s 7pm transfer deadline fast approaching, a number of Premier League clubs are trying to finalise their squads and get some last-minute deals in place ahead of the remaining weeks of the season. As always, a number of these deals are interlinked with ramifications and knock-on effects likely to alter the transfer plans of competitors and rivals.

Two players right in the eye of the storm right now are Palace’s Mateta and Wolves frontman Strand Larsen, both of whom are wanted men in the closing days of the winter window.

Starting with Mateta, the France striker has made clear his wish to leave Selhurst Park with just shy of 18 months left on his deal. And while the Eagles will reluctantly consider his sale, they have made it clear to the striker’s suitors that their asking price of £40m (€46m, $55m).

Of the sides who have expressed an interest, it is Nottingham Forest who have come nearest to striking a deal. Having agreed to meet Mateta’s £150,000 a week wage demands, they are currently understood to be just £5m shy of meeting Crystal Palace’s demands.

However, the France striker has not shied away from his ambitions to play Champions League football and, with Juventus earlier failing to meet Palace’s asking price, AC Milan have now stepped in to ‘agree terms’ with the striker, as confirmed by both Fabrizio Romano and Ben Jacobs.

Off the back of that, Milan hope to strike a deal before Monday’s deadline, having also made it clear they have the funds in place for a summer move.

If a deal is to be done now, they will likely need Crystal Palace to accept a loan-to-buy proposal, likely with an obligation to make permanent.

From a Palace point of view, they would prefer to get the cash in the bank now, so they can use the cash to meet the funds needed to purchase in-demand Wolves frontman Strand Larsen, who is also wanted by Leeds.

Wolves name minimum price for Strand Larsen transfer

Indeed, Palace had initially agreed a £45m plus £5m in add-ons package for Strand Larsen on Thursday morning, only for the trail to go cold later the same day when they did not follow through on their verbal agreement by lodging a formal bid.

Reports had suggested the deal was now OFF for the Eagles.

However, TEAMalk understands that the Eagles were never out of the running but were simply waiting for Mateta’s move to go through before they make their own move for Strand Larsen.

And while they have also agreed a separate deal for Aston Villa’s Evann Guessand, who is likely to move to Selhurst Park on loan with an obligation to make permanent in the summer, the Eagles owners will only fund a move for Strand Larsen once an agreement for Mateta has been officially rubberstamped.

In the meantime, Palace’s apparent hesitation over Strand Larsen had rekindled hope that Leeds, also very much on the Norwegian’s trail, could jump in and hijack the deal.

TEAMtalk can confirm that Leeds’ offer worth an initial £33m with £6m in add-ons, remains on the table and their position has not altered in the wake of the 25-year-old’s failure to join Palace.

Understandably, Wolves would rather sell Strand Larsen to the Eagles, given the more substantial offer on the table.

Furthermore, in a new development, it is also now understood that Wolves have made clear to Leeds that Strand Larsen will not be allowed to leave Molineux this winter for anything less than £45m (€52m, $62m).

That means that if Leeds are to have any chance of securing what will be a new club record deal this month, the Whites will need to raise the bar on their current offer, which, at present, totals £39m.

Wolves ‘in talks’ for Strand Larsen replacement; Leeds to offer vital star new deal

At the same time, Wolves are preparing for the exit of Strand Larsen by opening talks to sign a once much-coveted striker at Elland Road, and with the player very much open to a move to Molineux after 18 months in Italy.

Up at Leeds, while the Strand Larsen situation may be a little out of their hands, the Whites are ready to look after matters they can control, and we can exclusively reveal that they are ready to open contract talks with a player recently described by Daniel Farke as their “most important player”.

The early indications are that both parties are happy to agree to fresh terms.