Mateta one step away from joining AC Milan from Crystal Palace | OneFootball

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta is now just one step away from exiting Selhurst Park, according to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Palace forward has been seeking a way out of the club, and his agent is in Italy to complete a move to AC Milan.

Palace have identified Jorgen Strand Larsen as a replacement for Mateta, paving the way for the move to the Serie A giants.

Mateta spearheaded Palace to an FA Cup success last season. He has bagged 56 goals and 13 assists in 186 appearances for the club.

His hold-up and link-up play are invaluable to manager Oliver Glasner’s style, forming a terrific partnership with Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz.

Mateta is not in the Palace squad to face Nottingham Forest this weekend as he is reportedly not in the right frame of mind.

Palace will not miss Mateta

For all Mateta’s strengths, the numbers only tell part of the story. Too often this season, Palace have been frustrated by the chances he has failed to convert.

Clear one-on-ones, free headers inside the six-yard box – moments that demanded a ruthless edge. Mateta has missed too many of them.

In isolation, those misses can be forgiven. Over the course of the campaign, they began to stack up, costing Palace points and momentum in games they otherwise controlled.

That wastefulness was becoming a genuine issue, subtly hindering the club’s progress.

His overall contribution at Palace is respected, but elite clubs cannot afford a striker who lets big chances slip with such regularity.

Palace’s willingness to sanction a move, having already lined up Strand Larsen, starts to feel less like a gamble and more like a calculated reset at the top of the pitch.