In January the Frenchman was close first to the Bianconeri and then to Milan, but in the end he remained at Crystal Palace: after deciding the Conference League final he returns to Juventus’ sights
Where were we? In January he was first close to Juve, then to Milan, but in the end, due to some knee problems, he didn’t move from London. Now, Jean Philippe Mateta is back in the sights of the Bianconeri, dealing with the complicated renewal of Dusan Vlahovic and awaiting the appointment with PSG, after the Champions League final, to try to bring Kolo Muani back to Turin. Precisely the one from whom, with a sudden overtaking, the Crystal Palace striker took away his place at the next World Cup. And will this third time be the right time to see him as a protagonist in Serie A?
mateta between Juventus and AC Milan in January
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Four and a half months have passed since the Juventus managers identified the Frenchman, born in 1997, as the center forward to bring to Spalletti’s court, with the immediate prospect of replacing the injured Vlahovic and the future prospect of becoming the point of reference for the attack. The physical center forward, so desired by Spalletti. The operation had stalled in the face of high requests from Crystal Palace, who did not digest a loan formula with conditional redemption obligation, and from the player’s agents, so much so that Juve had then thrown themselves into the En-Nesyri alternative. A few weeks later, it was Milan that had Mateta in hand, but the deal fell through due to the opinion of the Rossoneri doctors, who had found problems with the striker’s knee that forced him to undergo an operation. Too big a risk when faced with an investment of 35 million.
Juve returns to Mateta
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Thus, Mateta remained at Crystal Palace and, after choosing the path of conservative therapy and missing 8 matches between the Premier and Conference, he began his climb: 5 goals between mid-March and the end of the season, complete with a decisive seal in the final of the third European competition against Rayo Vallecano. And so, he also convinced Didier Deschamps, who reserved for him (and not Kolo Muani) the last seat on the France plane leaving for the World Cup. Thanks to the contract expiring in 2027, Juve has returned to thinking about it in recent weeks: the request from the English is always high, above 30 million, but the negotiating capacity is now lower. Will the third time be the right time to finally see Mateta in Serie A?
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