Nottingham Forest eye £35m Jean-Philippe Mateta in contentious Crystal Palace raid | OneFootball

According to Telegraph, Nottingham Forest are attempting to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace in a move likely to prove contentious given recent tensions between the clubs. A fee of around £35m has been discussed.

Mateta wants to leave, though he has not submitted a transfer request. His deal has one year remaining after this season and he has indicated he does not plan to extend.

Aston Villa have shown interest but are on course to sign Tammy Abraham for around £18.1m instead, while AC Milan had an offer rejected last week. A Villa agreement could have sent forward Evann Guessand the other way after Palace tried to sign him from Nice last summer.

Mateta is Palace’s leading scorer this season with nine goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick against Bournemouth. Palace have already sold captain Marc Guéhi, in the final six months of his contract, to Manchester City for £20m and are reluctant to lose another major player.

Sanctioning a sale to Forest would be surprising, with Forest three points behind Palace in 17th and still able to drag them towards a relegation fight. There is lingering ill will after Forest raised concerns with Uefa that saw Palace lose their Europa League place, an episode Steve Parish linked to Forest’s desire to benefit.

It may also be a surprise if Mateta joined a relegation battle, although Forest appear ready to table a lucrative package. They have already signed six foot seven Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca on loan to bolster Sean Dyche’s attack while Chris Wood recovers from knee surgery. Forest had not planned much business, but Wood’s absence may have altered that and any deal must consider profit and sustainability rules, which could prompt a departure.

Palace will not allow Mateta to leave without signing a replacement.

Source: Telegraph